I was at a funeral for a friend of the family and stopped to speak with the widow. She wanted to make sure that I realized what an impact one of my nurses had on her family. I was glad to hear that she had brought comfort for the patient and his family.
Shirley Welch is the nurse who took care of D on many occasions for his chemotherapy. He told his family that even though the chemotherapy he was taking for his lymphoma often made him feel bad, Shirley and the other nurses made him look forward to coming for his treatments. Shirley would always tell D's wife that he was the cutest thing and she could just take him home with her. She always made them feel comfortable and "at home" while they were here. She just has a special way of putting you at ease and knowing that you are getting the best care you can get. His wife was grieving but wanted to make sure that I knew how Shirley's treatment and extra care had made her husband's last days a little brighter.
As if this weren't enough, I work with the grandson-in-law of D. He made a point to stop me in the hall to tell me what a difference Shirley had made to spirits of his wife's grandpa. He had told them that were it not for Shirley, and her making him feel like family, he would have quit his chemotherapy a long time ago.
Shirley is an excellent nurse who goes above and beyond to make her patients feel as if she is caring for a member of her own family. That is not always easy for a chemo nurse dealing with a patient who is angry and sometimes bitter for the cards they have been dealt. Shirley handles these situations with grace and calm.