Two weeks to go until we move! We are living amidst a mountain of boxes, bubble wrap and general chaos. The kitties know something is up. They both enjoy playing King of the Castle on top of the boxes.
This weekend I sorted through all 8 of my Junk Drawers throwing away old bills, receipts, movie stubs etc. In amongst all the junk, I came across a letter sent to be by one of my patients' daughters. Coincidently, this patient died exactly 4 years ago to the date of me finding the note. So, at the risk, of tooting my own horn, I'm going to share it.
Dear Dr. G,
I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the deep compassion abd excellent care, my father and I recieved from your staff.
My 85 yrs. old father, LW was a patient on your unit and died on Oct 15, 2002. It was an incredibly sad & difficult time for us. Yet admidst all this, Ramona, the nurse on duty, provided exceptional care to my father & emotional support and common sense to me. She did everything to maximize my Dad's comfort in a most professional & competent manner. Both she, and MM, the chaplain, inspired in me courage with their gentleness, goodness and compassion.
Thanks to their interventions, letting my Dad go, was hard and sad but not traumatic. My 22 year old daughter left the unit with me aftermy father's last breath-no longer afraid of death.
Thank you all, and congratulations for the outstanding care you provide.
Sincerely,
BI
It's not often that family members or patients take the time to write notes, and I'm glad that I still kept this one. It reminds me, that I did chose a career that directly affects people's lives, at their most vulnerable times in their lives, and hopefully I can make those times a little easier for them.
Finding little notes like this somehow re-inspires me.
4 comments:
Awe, thats a beautiful letter. I wish more ppl would express themselves like that more often. Healthcare providers are often overlooked and certainly not thanked enough if at all. HOw weird that u found it 4 yrs to the day.
Hope all goes well with the move. The TEDIOUS but GOOD thing about moving, is that it makes u go through your STUFF...and purge purge purge, so u dont have to haul crap to your new place lol.
That's lovely. I sent flowers to the nurses when my father died because they honestly seemed to be the only ones who cared, but I never thought about writing a letter.
Only 8 junk drawers? What are you, crazy-clean or something?!
(Kidding, just kidding.)
What a lovely note to receive.
What a beautiful note. From reading your blog and then meeting you in person, I can tell what a truly compassionate person you are, and that patient was so lucky to be the recepient of that compassion. I wrote a thank you note to the nursing staff on my floor after having Isabella because all my nurses were wonderful, and I don't think nurses get the kudos or credit they deserve.
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