October 2021 | Issue 4 | Page 3
I have never been so proud to be called a nurse . So honestly , 2020 was indeed the Year of the Nurse . Nurses proved their value to healthcare at every turn .
From her role with the advisory Council : As a member of the State Advisory Council on Palliative Care and Quality of Life , I felt the same disconnect as many in healthcare experienced . The one remarkable thing about the Council is that we are all at the table advocating for a shared goal to advance palliative care in Alabama . However , amidst COVID-19 and the extraordinary demands of our State Public Health officers , the Council essentially lost momentum as a collective group during the height of the pandemic . As you can imagine , we were all meeting the daily challenges before us , although the importance of having those meaningful discussions about advance care planning and advance directives became even more evident during the pandemic . We are now meeting together as a group ( although virtually ), and we look forward to meeting together face to face soon . I am confident that we will be even more impassioned to underscore the importance of advance care planning and the need to have these critical conversations early and often . Having meaningful and proactive conversations between your healthcare provider ( s ) and your family can provide reassurances that you receive the type of healthcare care services you desire , no matter where you are along the disease trajectory . So , in short , as a Council , we remained united to support or public health officers and to work diligently in assuring that we continue to provide evidence-based and quality healthcare to our patients within our respective communities .
From a personal perspective : I felt the sting of losing a parent during a pandemic . In August 2020 , I lost my precious mother . My mother had dementia and resided in an assisted care facility for three years before her death . In April , I began to see that the transition to a lockdown environment would be a tremendous challenge . Routine is a needed part of life for people who have dementia . I went from seeing my mother every other day to camping outside of her window , which was less often because being outside and trying to communicate through a window was more confusing than my mother , who was also heard of hearing . Pre-Covid , she enjoyed her friends and family visits and eating as a collective group within the assisted living , which was designated a memory care center . By June , due to failure to thrive ( she wasn ' t eating and was becoming less mobile ), I secured sitters to stay with her during the day . Oddly , I could employ a sitter service , but I could not come in and out to visit her . I couldn ' t pick up on the subtle changes , but my mother was deconditioning quickly . By July , she had deteriorated to the point that I knew this would be the end of her quality of life . She was moved to a higher level of memory care , and in August 2020 , she died . I was able to
Dr . Acker ' s mother with Big Al
be with her during the last week of her life . I donned protective coverings that she couldn ' t understand , and our touches were through latex and masks . Mother didn ' t die with COVID 19 infection , only COVID- 19 isolation . Though well trained in end-of-life care , I failed my mother during her last few months of life . Complicated grief is , and will be , a byproduct of the pandemic . Many others echo the same experiences , and for that , I am truly saddened .