Steppin' Up
Date: January 24, 2005

When my mom was admitted to Floyd's Cardiopulmonary/Intermediate Specialty Nursing unit, I had no idea we were embarking on her final journey. This was her fourth hospitalization in two months, but each time she had bounced back with resiliency that personally defined for me the term Steel Magnolia.

This time, however, things were different. She was not bouncing back, and the team of nurses, respiratory therapists and physicians who had been caring for her were asking me to make decisions I felt woefully inadequate and ridiculously uninformed to make.

I’m an only child, and my greatest fear had been being in this moment: the only authorized person left on earth to make life and death decisions for someone I loved more than words can express.

Exhausted, emotions raw and nerves on end, I reached a breaking point. I needed support, information, a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen. With my wife caring for our children at home, there was no one — until Dr. Darrell Dean walked calmly and confidently into my life.

Dr. Dean was not my mother’s caregiver. He was not our family doctor. There was no reason for him to step forward, but he did, with a sense of grace and diplomacy that quieted my storm.

Dr. Dean pulled me away from Room 518, into a quiet refuge and asked two simple questions: "Can you tell me what’s going on with your mother?" and "How can I help?”

Honestly, I didn’t know enough to even know how to answer the second question, and so Dr. Dean answered the question for me.

He took my mom’s chart and went over it page after exhausting page, explaining each detail in words that made sense to me. He offered to speak with physicians, nurses and caseworkers on my behalf, and, with my permission, invited another physician to help me walk through the maze of paperwork and the decision-making process. He then followed up to make sure the physician and I had talked and that I was satisfied with the information I was given.

Dr. Dean’s efforts provided me with a sense of peace and assurance that enabled me to make the best decisions for my family, and I will forever be grateful for that gift.

My mom died on Jan. 5, and Dr. Dean was among the first to extend condolences. He visited me and my family at the funeral home. He called on my first day back at work to ask how I was doing. And he has continued to offer his time to me.

Dr. Dean was not the only Floyd staff member to reach out to me during this troubling time, but his efforts stand out because he had no role in my mother’s care and because he had no connection to me other than our shared employer. At a time of great need, he responded with clinical expertise and personal attention that far exceeded his job description.

<<back to Outstanding Story Archives