Nurse helps dying patient see the sun rise

Jeannette Rivera wanted outside. But she couldn’t speak.

She was 58, facing death in the ICU at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital. Her sister, Arlene Rivera, stood at her bedside. Jeannette, while breathing through a tube, grabbed her sister’s face, moving it to communicate “yes” and “no.”

She indicated to Arlene that she didn’t want to die in the hospital, and Arlene promised her sister that she would get her out. At about 4 a.m. on a spring morning in 2019, Arlene, intent on keeping that promise – even if it meant carrying her sister outdoors – made an unusual request to ICU nurse Lauren Carlson.

“I said, ‘I don’t care where you take her, just that she can get outside,’” Arlene said.

Less than an hour later, Carlson confirmed a plan and a place. Arlene returned to her sister’s bedside.

“I looked at (Jeannette) and told her, ‘You’re going to see the sun rise. You’re out of here,’” Arlene said.

Carlson and her colleagues prepared the hospital bed, connecting all the medical equipment to batteries. They proceeded with five of her family members down the hallways, through sets of double doors to the open air.

Staff brought chairs and blankets for the family. It was a clear, chilly morning in a brick-paved area just east of the emergency department where, at 5:29 a.m., the sun rose.

“It was just enough room for a bed,” Carlson said. “Really nice flowers planted. Really great view of the sunrise. It was just a gorgeous morning.”

Jeannette’s sister and mother stood on either side of the hospital bed, holding her hands. Along with the family members, a chaplain, a respiratory therapist and Carlson were there when the breathing tube was removed.

“My sister looked very calm. She took her last breath looking at me,” Arlene said. “Everybody was crying. It was pure compassion and empathy of a beautiful moment that we all shared.”

She said the team helped her sister die with dignity, without suffering in her last moments. She also said that although her sister died, the people working at the ICU are “still healers.” They helped her family heal.

“I have peace,” she said. “We all have peace.”

Carlson said the family “did an incredible job” as advocates for Jeannette when she was a patient. “Her family loved her something fierce.”

ICU nursing manager Lydia Baldwin said Carlson routinely applies expertise and skill while also getting to know her patients, paying close attention to details that matter to them.

“She really has a big heart,” Baldwin said, adding that ICU nurses frequently see people at times of major tragedy. “We meet people when they’re just so vulnerable and dependent. Lauren does such a great job recognizing that, and she tries to return some dignity.”