Theresa Stauffer
October 2019
Theresa
Stauffer
,
BSN, RN
Intensive Care Unit
Pottstown Hospital - Tower Health
Pottstown
,
PA
United States

 

 

 

I am writing on behalf of my mother and brother. The day my father passed away following a short and unexpected illness, is the day that our worlds changed. In the days leading up to my father's death, he was admitted to Pottstown Hospital. Shortly thereafter, he then suffered a stroke and was transferred to ICU for care. That is where we met Terri.
Terri went above and beyond her responsibilities in caring for my dad. From the moment we met her, we knew we had a special nurse. She immediately bonded with my mother and made me feel at ease. Although she was also caring for other patients, Terri made us feel as if dad was her only patient. She was attentive to dad's medical needs but also took care of our emotional needs. She answered all our questions in an honest but thoughtful and compassionate way and explained medical terms in a way that we understood.
After only a day or so it was apparent dad would not recover and we needed to make the very difficult decision to place him on palliative/hospice care. Terri was very supportive and after dad was moved out of ICU to begin hospice care, she took the time out of her busy schedule to check on my mother several times during her breaks. One night after her shift ended, she came to my father's room and sat with my mother for several hours as we shared family stories and pictures. We all appreciated that Terri took the time to get to know my father as a person rather than just a patient.
Several days after dad's passing, we were touched that Terri attended his funeral services despite the fact that she had just finished her night shift duties as a nurse and treated us all like family. Terri is truly extraordinary, and we were blessed to have her as our nurse.