Husband honors 'health care angels' who cared for his wife
Richard and Connie Swett first met Baptist Medical Group palliative care physician Dr. Ashley Wright at a mutual friend’s barbecue dinner on July 5. Little did they know, they’d need Wright’s assistance soon.
On July 7, Richard “Dick” Swett woke up around 5 a.m. to the sound of his wife in pain. Connie had slipped and hit her head as she fell. Richard immediately drove his wife to the hospital where she was admitted. Four days later, Richard would receive the surprising phone call that his wife had been moved to a hospice facility.
“I was not happy she was in hospice care instead of palliative care, because I was not aware she was in such a bad state,” said Richard. The gravity of his wife’s declining health finally hit him when he received another call from the hospice center telling him her condition was too severe for them to treat.
He called his friend Jennifer to see if her friend Dr. Ashley Wright could help. Wright was in Florida with her family when Jennifer called. But hours later that same day, Richard received a call from Baptist Reynolds Hospice House. Wright had flown back early from her family vacation to take care of Connie.
She was at Baptist Reynolds Hospice House for about five weeks, and I could see that she was deteriorating. The nurses told me it wasn’t going to be months but weeks. The nurses were just so wonderful. I can’t express it any more than that. They were just so caring.
They didn’t just take care of Connie, Richard stressed.
“Aug. 3 is my birthday, and I remember going into Connie’s room that day and seeing ‘Happy Birthday Dick’ on the whiteboard where the nurses usually write their updates,” said Richard, who had never mentioned his birthday to anyone at Baptist Reynolds Hospice House.
Connie died on Aug. 15, but Richard never forgot the kindness of her care team.
I just felt like I wanted to do something special for Dr. Wright, so I instructed my lawyers to include Baptist Reynolds Hospice House in my will. Taking care of Connie to the end of her life was a team effort, and Dr. Wright was the leader of the team. But the nurses, the dietitians and the servers were all part of the team too, and they’re all wonderful.
Richard doesn’t think the word “hero” is good enough to describe the hospice team.
I refer to them as health care angels.
Richard’s advice to anyone experiencing a similar journey is to trust that they and their loved ones are in good hands. “It’s a very difficult time to recognize you’re possibly losing a loved one,” said Richard. “The nurses at Baptist Reynolds Hospice House are wonderful. Rely on them for information about your loved ones and what you’re going through emotionally and mentally.”
Richard also finds it helpful to talk with other people about what you’re going through. “I actually met the gentleman whose wife was across the hall from Connie,” said Richard. “We’ve bonded to the point that I’ll be spending my 50th wedding anniversary with him over steak and potatoes.”
Richard also attends loss of life group sessions at the Kemmons Wilson Family Center for Good Grief.
Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation’s Health Care Hero Program is an initiative that allows patients to recognize a Baptist team member for doing something heroic to better their health care experience with Baptist. For more information about the program or to make a gift in honor of a caregiver, go to bmhgiving.org.
