If you lose a loved one, no one is going to begrudge you that time to focus on yourself as you wade through that sea of grief.
However, Boston man Peter DeMarco has not stopped thinking about the amazing medical team who cared for him and his late wife in her final days.
Peter’s wife, Laura Levis, passed away after suffering an asthma attack, and she spent seven days being treated in CHA Cambridge Hospital before passing away.
During that time, doctors and nurses went to great lengths to help the couple and their family in every way they could – and Peter is ‘eternally grateful’ for all that they did.
Penning an emotionally-charged open letter in the New York Times’ ‘Voices’ section, Peter extended his gratitude to the entire intensive care team at the hospital.
Admitting he will never forget the names of each individual who helped his family, he wrote: “Every single one of you treated Laura with such professionalism, and kindness, and dignity as she lay unconscious. When she needed shots, you apologised that it was going to hurt a little, whether or not she could hear.”
“When you listened to her heart and lungs through your stethoscopes, and her gown began to slip, you pulled it up to respectfully cover her. You spread a blanket, not only when her body temperature needed regulating, but also when the room was just a little cold, and you thought she’d sleep more comfortably that way,” he added.
He went on to reveal that he would not have been able to make it through those harrowing seven days had it not been for the care and consideration of the hospital staff.
“How many times did you walk into the room to find me sobbing, my head down, resting on her hand, and quietly go about your task, as if willing yourselves invisible? How many times did you help me set up the recliner as close as possible to her bedside, crawling into the mess of wires and tubes around her bed in order to swing her forward just a few feet?” he wrote.
One of the most poignant sections of Peter’s letter came as he recalled Laura’s final hours, when he was ‘emotionally and physically exhausted’.
The staff arranged Laura’s bed so that Peter could ‘crawl in with her one last time’.
“I will remember that last hour together for the rest of my life. It was a gift beyond gifts, and I have Donna and Jen [staff members] to thank for it. Really, I have all of you to thank for it,” he wrote.
We’re sure his words have touched the team and many others around the world.
