I was at work on 7SW and realized I had six missed calls from my mom. When I called her back, she said my grandpa was not well and in the ER. He had needed multiple resuscitation efforts after his heart stopped and was on multiple forms of life support. As a family, we knew things were not going to go the way we’d hoped. We decided to still have him roomed in the ICU to provide a comfortable and quiet environment for us to withdraw care.

Kaeli was our ICU nurse. She is someone I was familiar with, as she had been a sitter for one of my patients at 7SW in the past. Her calm and respectful demeanor was exactly what my mother, uncle, and, admittedly, I needed that night. She, alongside the intensivist, was at the bedside regularly. They teamed up to provide us with all the information we needed to make the right decisions for my grandpa at the end of his life.

It is unusual to have a nurse be so closely tied with the family, so for her to be there for us was surreal and comforting in a time of need. Although I am a nurse myself, she stepped in where I couldn’t at times to provide emotional support and medical information, helping us empathize and gain a deeper understanding of the many nuances of end-of-life care. She provided my grandfather with dignity in death and comfort in life.

When my grandpa finally passed, she offered to give us his handprints and fingerprints. I asked, “Is this something specific to the ICU?” She said, “No, it's something us nurses created.” We were so happy to be able to have those sentimental pieces of him. She also surprised us with another token. She cut individual heart rhythm strips out and placed them in small glass bottles with cork caps. When we asked if we could have a few more, she happily made several. My family and I will have these treasures forever, and I hope to carry these tokens into practice on 7SW.

Kaeli is a special person and a valuable nurse, and I know my grandpa would have said the same. Thank you, Kaeli.