Late Friday afternoon, we received a call from my father-in-law. We were concerned that he was calling to say he was experiencing issues from his treatment for Stage 4 Bladder Cancer. Instead, he was upset about my mother-in-law. She had been out gardening, but now she was unable to climb the few stairs to their living room. This was odd to us since she takes no meds, exercises regularly, and other than when she is home caring for Dad, she is always on the go participating in numerous volunteer organizations. Dad shared that he thought she might be showing signs of a stroke. He called the ambulance and they brought her here to Jefferson. Her condition was quickly diagnosed. We were advised that she had a "serious brain bleed" and would need to be immediately sent via Life Flight to AGH for care. A short time later, the doctor returned to the room. He told us that due to storms passing through, the Life Flight helicopter was unable to fly. Our concern and stress levels were quickly increasing. After waiting about an hour, she was finally able to be transported via a life support ambulance.
The drive to AGH took us almost an hour due to the heavy rains. As you can imagine, we felt helpless and frustrated. Upon us all arriving at AGH, our fears were immediately calmed by an outstanding Neuro ICU nurse named Kelly Hoche. She showed nothing but compassion and kindness to our family. I watched as she calmed my mother-in-law, who due to the stroke, could not verbalize her fears. She also took the time to address our family's needs and ensure my father-in-law was okay. A touching moment we will all remember occurred when my mother-in-law started to cry. Kelly leaned into the bed and looked her directly in the eyes. Kelly smiled at her and said something like, "C, please don't cry, it will make me cry and we don't want to be two crying women here together." That one act showed both compassion and a slight bit of humor. Kelly took the time to explain the symptoms of the stroke and what we should expect. We were able to return to our homes late on Friday night, knowing Mom was in good hands.
Early Saturday morning my brother-in-law received a call from the hospital. The call was from Kelly. She was finishing her shift but wanted to let our family know that Mom was doing well. In fact, since she had made such improvement, she could be moved to the neuro step down unit. The call was only a small gesture, but it made a huge impression on all of us.
Fast forward to Sunday evening. It had been a long weekend for our family. Fortunately, Mom was regaining some of her strength and was able to verbalize and begin to form sentences. However, she had numerous periods where she would become frustrated with her situation. If we talked about leaving, Mom would start to get "weepy" and beg us to stay. In the early evening, we were sitting in Mom's room when who should appear at the door but Kelly and the aide from NICU. They wanted to check on mom before starting their shift. My mother-in-law was so thrilled to see them again. Kelly gave her more words of encouragement and shared, "I knew you would do well." That was just what Mom needed to hear. Encouragement from someone other than us! As Kelly left, my mother-in-law asked if she would ever see her again. Kelly responded that if Mom would like her to, she would stop by on her lunch hour to check on her again.
After Kelly's visit, Mom had expressed no issues with us leaving. Probably because she no longer was afraid of being there alone. She had a friend in Kelly at AGH.
We feel Mom is doing exceptionally well. So well, that, while I am typing this, Mom is already being transferred back to our Rehab unit here at Jefferson. The disappointing part for us is that we will not be able to see Kelly again to express our heartfelt thanks. She is a nurse who made a difference! A difference to my mother-in-law and a difference to our entire family.