Alex Carson
Nurses
Nurses are an essential part of any medical team. The doctors are the ones who diagnose disease and prescribe the medications, but it is the nurses who deliver the treatment and care. Nurses get to know their patients very well. They dedicate their lives to helping others. Nurses spend most of their day on their feet, making sure that their patients are as comfortable as possible. Nurses don’t often get the credit that they deserve, but they truly are heroes.
Mary Desin
Mary
University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Mary started working at the University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center and quickly became an essential part of the medical team. She worked hard to prove herself as a knowledgeable and competent nurse. She understood early on that working as a nurse at the medical center means that you need to work as a team. She got along great with the other nurses, and she impressed the doctors with her hard work and dedication.
Brain Aneurysm
On June 3, 2019, Mary was a patient in the hospital where she spent so many hours caring for her patients. As a patient, she needed her fellow nurses to help her. She developed an aneurysm in her brain, and unfortunately, it wasn’t caught early enough. Mary died in the hospital that she worked in and took so much pride in. It was a sad day for the entire staff. Losing a patient is difficult on any medical professional; however, losing a person that you have worked side-by-side with for years is even more difficult.
Mary’s Last Wishes
When Mary was younger, she made the decision to donate her organs when she passed. She knew how vital organ transplants could be when it comes to saving lives. She knew that as an organ donor that she could save many lives. On more than one occasion, she sat and listened to doctors explain to the loved ones of a person who had just died the importance of organ donation. She decided that when it was her turn to leave this world, she wouldn’t make the doctors ask her family for a donation. She also decided that she wouldn’t place the decision on the members of her family. Mary knew what she wanted and had them written up years before her death.
The Lights Go On
There are lights on top of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Hamot Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania where Mary works. The lights are turned on when a patient donates their organs or when a transplant is taking place. This is done to honor the person who gave the greatest gift possible. The gift of life. Shortly after Mary’s death, the organ procurement team got to work removing Mary’s organs so that they could be sent all over the country to patients in need. To honor Mary and her gift of life, the lights were turned on. This was important to her co-workers, but they wanted to do more. Everyone in the hospital wanted to honor Mary, and they found the perfect way to do it.
Lining Up
When it was time to wheel Mary into the operating room to procure her organs, over 100 of her colleagues and hospital employees got together to pay their respects to this special woman that they all cared about so much. They lined the halls that her gurney would be traveling down. Not only did they want to honor her, but they also wanted to say goodbye.
Matthew James
Mary’s son, Matthew James was one of the people standing in the line that day. He knew that people were going to get together to honor his mother, but he never expected so many people to be there. He says that he expected there to be about 20 people. He never expected for there to be over 100 people in the line. He says that people he didn’t know were coming up to him telling him how his mother helped so much in furthering their career. He says that it was a very emotional time, and people were crying. He couldn’t believe how many people loved his mother.
Good Morning, America
Mary’s story spread quickly. Soon, Matthew was contacted by Good Morning, America to be on the show. He told his mother’s story and the story of the way that the hospital honored her after her death.
A Legacy
Mary spent most of her life helping her patients and the young nurses just starting out. Even in death, she wanted to help. Mary’s legacy is an amazing one. Thanks to her, many people were given a second chance at life. There is nothing more heroic than that. 100 hospital workers line halls to honor late nurse who donated her organs, and it was a beautiful moment.
