Winner 2008 Best Nurse's Story UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California
written by Valerie Esty, RN
“I do the very best I know how- the very best I can ; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end” were words once said by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.
East 8 Medical-Surgical Specialty Unit is known for weaning ventilated patients and other medical or surgical case patients. But, not known to many, each nurses working in East 8 have a “built-in” drive and passion to care for these patients that keeps them going on, up to their outmost ability ,or what we simply say “going the second mile with a heart”. Sounds easy to say but it is hard to do these days especially for nurses, when our profession requires a lot of pressure from patients requiring a nurse’s expertise for healing, family members’ never-ending inquiries, and doctors’ lists of orders.
You see, our unit is a newly established department in UC Davis Medical Center and to have all nurses coming from different states, different countries and combining different characters, traits and cultures, one may expect differences all together but out came a “team with a heart”. And I would like you to meet two of these nurses with an amazing story.
Their names are Mark A., a nurse and retired in military yet continues to contribute his dedicated work to patients as one of our staff. And Sharon S., RN working as STAN Nurse on our unit.
Mr. R.R was assigned under Mark and Sharon’s care one day, who came to our unit due to his unexpected deteriorating health through the “end-of-shift“ reports given by each nurses. They got to know him as a man who takes pride in himself for accomplishing so much in his life before retiring. During Mark’s shift, a well spent conversation occurred between him and Mr. R.R. whose favorite hobby is “fly fishing” and that had to stop because of his illness. Not known to many of us at that time that Mark has a passion for fly fishing. Soon Mr. R.R perked up every time Mark worked and made sure he spent time for a nice fly fishing conversation with him, and he really appreciated that so much. Sharon, on her part, continued her encouraging words to him.
Close to plan of discharge, Mark, who makes fly fishing boxes for a group called “Cast For A Cure” thought of making one for Mr. R.R. The box has an engraved trout which Mark drew and gave it to Mr. R.R. And with that small gift came a big smile from our dear Mr. R.R.
We knew that he was very happy with that fly fishing box as he went home. After six months we did not expect to see Mr. R.R back on our floor but this time he was seriously ill that only the nurses’ touch and gentle voices were the means of communicating to him with our care. Mark continued to talk to him about fly fishing though there were no signs of laughter, or smile, or a nod, but he knew still that Mr. R.R wanted to hear those good old time stories. Sharon, who had been one of our dedicated nurses made sure that all his needs and plan of care were followed up throughout this course of his end of life moments.
He stayed in our unit for a couple of days when finally laid to rest. Both Mark and Sharon were by his bedside on his last breath.
One day, as Mark was working, Mrs. R came by our unit and told him that Mr. R.R. will be cremated and she feels that instead of a regular jar for his ashes she wants him to be remembered for who he is and what his passion was when he was still alive and healthy, that is “to fly fish”. So, Mrs. R. asked Mark if she can have another fly fishing box. Without any hesitation, Mark said “Yes”. Not only did Mark made Mr. R.R a regular fly fishing box but made it into a larger fly fishing box for his ashes.
And that is what I meant about nurses in East 8 when I say “going the second mile with a heart”.
These days, nurses become too busy about their jobs and often times have neglected the emotional being of our patients and about who they are. And for patients like Mr. R.R , being in a hospital and uncertain about one’s health and well-being, they are looking for people that will somehow take time to know them, or spend time to heal that anxious thoughts and feelings of being in a hospital, or merely just a nurse’s presence to know that someone is there for them.
What Mark and Sharon have done to this respectable man in our unit is one fine example of what Abraham Lincoln has said that we need to do the very best we know how- the very best we can ; and to keep on doing so until the end. Not only was Mr. R.R treated as a patient but they reached out to the other level of Mr. R.R and that is seeing him as who he is as a person, a human being who also has needs just like us. The need to be wanted and be loved till laid to rest in this world of ours.
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