Yesterday in the morning I told the aides not to get a resident out of bed. He was failing and his sats were low. I put him on O2 via a face mask. We put him on comfort care.
His vitals were falliing all through my shift but his respirations were still steady and regular, albeit labored. I went in to change a bandage on his arm and his breathing was beginning to be Cheyne-Stokes. Shift change was approaching and I thought I should get moving but then thought, "He is DYING. This is more important than turning over the med cart." I sat with him and stroked his face and kissed him and said, "It's okay, R. You can go. You're not alone." He took his last breath. After two minutes without a respiration I removed the mask and turned off the O2. Got the steth and pronounced him. Then I cried.
Told the charge and she called the family. I heard her say, "He wasn't alone. A nurse was with him."
i was with my dad when he passed............ i actually had my hand on his heart when it stopped beating........... we all gathered around him and hugged him and kissed him and told him we love you....... he knew.................
Sue, I am so glad you were there when this man made his transition. I know he knew you were there. I held a baby while he died a couple weeks ago...and believe me, they know. They go faster and more peacefully when they know they're with someone who cares. No matter what age.
wow-he was lucky yo have you by his side. i am sure he felt your presence and your words gave him peace. if i am ever in a hospital bed, i hope to have a nurse like you by my side for my last breath. you're a very sweet nurse, know that your dad where ever he is, he's very proud of you♥
thank you for your tenderness and gift of loving presence, so that he was not alone. i am sure he felt the love and peace you were giving as he passed.
What a wonderful nurse you are, Sue! No one should die alone in the hospital- I've even clocked out and stayed w/ a pt until family could arrive.
My grandmother died alone in a hospital miles from 'home', and though I was underage and wasn't told she was that sick, that the blood transfusions had been stopped, that my dad was out of town- it just broke my heart and infuriated me when I learned the details years later. I didn't speak to my Dad for over a year. No one was there for her. She was always there for us. Excuses were made, but it was just inexcusable. Honestly, if I could change just one thing in my life, I would have stolen my Mom's car that night and drove over six hours to be there.
I can only hope she had a nurse as compassionate as you are who took the time to sit beside her and make those last few moments a little easier. She was such a wonderful and loving person- I hope the nurses taking care of her saw that through the illness and confusion. I hope they know she raised her family better than she was treated, and didn't think she somehow deserved or earned our absence in her time of need. I really hope and pray that one of the nurses looked like one of us, so maybe she didn't think we had abandoned her- unlikely as that scenario is. Or that she fell asleep peaceful- confident that one of us would arrive in time and never realized that we didn't. Thank God she never knew it took two days for the hospital to track down my father to find out which funeral home to call.
I tell you all of this because I feel compelled thank you for staying w/ your pt. "Thank you!" from the bottom of my heart- there are few things greater one human can do for another then to make the passing a little easier.
Your post brought tears to my eyes and I recalled your recent loss of your father. Sometimes we all get caught up with the mundane from shift to shift; it takes an experience like this to bring us back to the reality of our work. Hope your day is peaceful.
Hearing is the last to go, and he knew. I was not able to get to my mom in time and nurse was there, I will always be grateful to her for staying with her.
Wow..that is what nursing is all about!.I cried as I read your story. No one should be alone while dying. Thanks for making a difference, not only in someone's life, but also in death..People matter..
rdsxfnrn
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i was with my dad when he passed............ i actually had my hand on his heart when it stopped beating........... we all gathered around him and hugged him and kissed him and told him we love you....... he knew.................