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End of life experience helps nurse receive money for schooling

  • Ashley Schlader, an LPN at Floyd County Medical Center, recently received a $500 scholarship to continue her education toward an Associate's Degree in Nursing. Press photo by Kelly Terpstra

  • Floyd County Medical Center LPN Ashley Schlader demonstrates how to use hospital equipment on Marigold Miranda. Press photo by Kelly Terpstra

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

The final moments of Esther Meyne’s life were spent with loved ones she held close to her heart.

Stories were told and memories were shared during those last days at Floyd County Medical Center.

For Meyne, who died at 94 years old in June 2018, the end was peaceful by all accounts. Her daughter, Carolyn Vogel, was thankful for that.

“It was determined when she came into the hospital her condition was serious enough that she probably wasn’t going to respond to any treatment. The decision was of course to her allow her to finish out her time in as much comfort as possible,” Vogel said.

“The thing that we found so comforting to the hospital was the care and compassion that they showed to my mother and to the family that was there,” said Vogel, a 1963 Charles City High School graduate who now lives in Lansing, along the Mississippi River.

“We knew she would not be leaving the hospital. We knew she would not be going back to Riverside,” said Vogel about her mother, who had lived in and around Charles City almost her entire life and who was suffering from kidney failure.

Shifts would change, nurses would come and go. But Vogel, a nurse herself who has been retired for 20 years, noticed a bond and connection made with one nurse in particular – Ashley Schlader.

“We just found her to be very compassionate, very caring and thorough in her care,” said Vogel.

Schlader, who was hired as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at the medical center in 2015, is currently a licensed practical nurse. It didn’t take long for Meyne and Schlader to develop a friendship.

“We talked a lot. That’s probably what got us so close,” said Schlader. “I was able to talk to her about her life and living at Riverside. She told me about her kids and her family.”

Schlader’s time with Meyne lasted about two weeks, but the nurse found out early on that the patient wasn’t fearful of death.

“She never had told me that she was scared like some of them do. She was just able to talk about the good times until she couldn’t anymore,” said Schlader.

“I just loved the fact that once she found out that this was the final stage for her and this was the end, she was still able to, like, reminisce,” said Schlader.

During the finals days, Esther lay silent as her body was failing. Her care was switched to hospice, but that didn’t matter to Schlader. She spent as much time as she could at her bedside – checking her vitals, inserting IV’s and making sure she was not in any pain.

“Even though she couldn’t talk to me, I still cared about her,” said Schlader.

Meyne died on June 14, 2018. In her memory, the family designated a one-time scholarship of $500.

“We knew that my mother would have been so proud to be able to provide assistance to somebody to go on to school. That’s the generation that she was – to be able to help somebody else would have meant a lot to her,” said Vogel.

Little did Schlader know at the time, but Meyne’s family had her in mind to receive the scholarship.

“We had just felt close to her while we were in the hospital,” Vogel said.

The scholarship was awarded to Schlader this year, and she is currently studying for her associate degree in nursing in hopes of becoming a registered nurse. She said she plans on graduating in December 2020.

Schlader said she has grown in her profession over the years. At first, she was scared to deal with patients in hospice or to chat with family members.

“As a CNA I never really sat down and talked with the patients, talked with the families. I was just in there to do my job and then I was gone,” said Schlader. “Therapeutic communication-wise, I really grew with that.”

Taking positives away from a tough situation has helped Schlader realize that even in dark times, there can be moments of triumph.

“This was the best situation as far as end of life that I’ve ever been in,” said Schlader. “I want to thank them and their family for letting me take care of their mom and trusting me to.”

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