Shortly after being admitted to the unit, my mom had an acute decompensation, and the staff responded with professionalism, critical thinking, and teamwork, and their nurse manager was right there in my mom’s room supporting her staff and my family. We decided to move my mom to comfort care, and this is a dedicated stroke and palliative unit.

We desperately wanted to get my mom home to hospice, and the team was very up front in a professional, compassionate way to tell us it just wasn’t safe. "You can’t bring her home, but we want you to bring her home to her." They allowed our children, family, and even my sister’s dog to come up to the unit. They allowed twenty of us to be in the room surrounding my mom with love and support. They allowed my dad, my two siblings, and me to stay at her bedside 24 hours a day from Wednesday to Saturday.

I would like to highlight a nurse who will forever hold a place in my heart for the rest of my life, Kelly. She had my mom for two nights, including the early morning, which she peacefully passed. Kelly, I believe, is an angel sent down from Heaven for this job. She is a young nurse, but to say I was impressed with her is an understatement. She provided my mom and my family with the most phenomenal care.

You hear about the palliative experience, and Kelly provided that and so much more. She was caring, compassionate, attentive, supportive, gentle, kind, and a phenomenal critical thinker. I could go on and on about her. She wanted to ensure that my mom’s pain was managed and that she was comfortable. Eventually, my mom was started on a PCA where she was getting continuous medication, and then the nurses could push the button every six minutes. Kelly would push the button and set a timer on her watch, and six minutes later, she was back in that room. This happened for her entire 12-hour shift; she was in my mom’s room every 6 minutes on 2 separate nights.

We caught her on more than one occasion, teary-eyed in the room with us. As I said, the compassion and passion she has for her job are beyond incredible. On the last night, she took the time to tell us that she was noticing some changes and that likely we were nearing the end, and that sometimes people don’t like to pass in front of their loved ones, and maybe we should think about taking some 10-minute breaks now and then. I sincerely appreciated her telling us this, and I can’t imagine how difficult it is to have some of these conversations with families.

My mom passed away a couple of hours later, peacefully in my dad’s arms, and I was so thankful Kelly was still there with us. I will forever be indebted to her for the phenomenal care she provided my mom and family.