For Ellie
One of the many benefits of being a part of the palliative care nursing community has been the opportunity to develop long-term relationships with our colleagues across the nation. These relationships become far more than professional connections; they become our close friends. One of the most precious of these friendships for me over the past 25 years came as a double blessing because I came to know Patrick Coyne RN, FAAN, FPCN, and his wife, Ellie Coyne. I knew Patrick as a clinical leader from the early days of pain management and the early development of palliative care. Even then, Ellie was a part of the "package" because she was Patrick's ever-present companion and supporter. A few years later, Ellie officially joined the work of palliative care because she developed a model volunteer program for the palliative care unit at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where Patrick served as the director of this nationally recognized program and innovative inpatient unit.
Ellie's work on the palliative care unit became known by many. She was a source of unending enthusiasm, love, and compassion. I visited the unit a few times and witnessed firsthand Ellie coordinating weddings for patients in the last days of life, comforting families, and being a soulful supporter of physicians and nurses as they grieved difficult deaths. Connie Dahlin, a palliative care colleague of Patrick and Ellie's, recalls that Ellie welcomed people from all walks of life, that she would offer team members sustenance with a warm hello and a "how are you," making sure there was coffee and food on the table for anyone who needed it. She would invite family members into the lounge and offer fresh-baked muffins or cookies or simply a hug as a means of support. Connie adds that Ellie would meet with each of the volunteers to figure out their strengths and interests and how best to use them in the program. Furthermore, Ellie engaged her volunteers, encouraged them, and talked lovingly and passionately about them. Connie summed up her fond memories of Ellie by saying that "Ellie would just bring herself and her infectious laugh. She would make it a point to say hello and good-bye. She would sometimes be the last person a visitor would see and would leave them with a hug and a smile and a sense that someone cared about them."
Ellie was the secret ingredient that made a palliative care unit really be the palliative care we all strive to provide. In early 2016, Ellie contacted me about submitting a manuscript to the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing (JHPN) because many people had encouraged her to write about her volunteer program experiences to share with others. Ellie sent me a draft, and I provided feedback, and then it got set aside because Ellie and Patrick moved to Medical University of South Carolina where again, almost immediately, Ellie began to change the culture of care because she started a volunteer program there.
In June 2016, the endless energy of Ellie; her passion for supporting patients, families, and staff; and her love for life as a mother and grandmother came to a tragic end because she was killed in an accident by a drunk driver. For Patrick and their daughter Erin, and for many, many palliative care professionals, the loss of Ellie is too enormous to describe.
A few months after her death, Patrick came across Ellie's unfinished manuscript and sent it to me to see if it might be published in JHPN. I welcomed this opportunity to share Ellie's wisdom and her pioneering work to advance the role of volunteers in palliative care. The manuscript is published in this issue of the journal. It is my hope that this last message from Ellie can be a spark to the readers of JHPN to initiate volunteer programs in other settings. What a great tribute this would be to Ellie, and to Patrick, our nursing colleague. Their combined dedication to palliative care has benefitted many.
Bart Bobb, one of the palliative care nurses on the palliative care unit, shared this memory of Ellie:
"For 10 years, Ellie Coyne was the heart and soul of Massey's Thomas Palliative Care Unit at VCU Health. Her tireless service, dedication, and love for all patients, families, and the staff imbued the unit with that "je ne sais quoi" (French saying of a quality that cannot be described) that made it special. A beer, a trip to a virtual beach for a patient who would otherwise never make it there again, children entertained, a fresh batch of warm cookies-no patient/family request or need-were trivial to her. Weddings, birthdays, holiday parties, and other special occasions were celebrated in style, thanks to Ellie. Her loss leaves a gaping hole in our hearts, but a commemorative plaque with her picture now adorns the unit's family room she called her home away from home and helps us honor her memory."
As a final note, Ellie and Patrick had a true love of Ireland. When I decided to write about Ellie, her pioneering volunteer program and dedication to palliative care, I looked through some old Irish proverbs to try to capture the essence of Ellie, the gift she gave us, and the loss that we all now feel. In this proverb, I can hear Ellie's spirit:
May the blessings of light be upon you.
Light without and light within.
The blessed sunlight shine on you
And warm your heart
Till it glows like a great peat fire.
And in all your comings and goings
May you ever have a kindly greeting
From them you meet on the road.
Thank you, Patrick, for sharing Ellie with us. And thank you Ellie, for continuing to teach us how to be the best palliative care nurses possible. Your free spirit, generosity, universal love of everyone in sight, and the clarity of your vision for palliative care continue to guide us.
Betty Ferrell, RN, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN, CHPN
Editor-in-Chief
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