Tear-jerking video showed a beloved children’s nurse receiving a guard of honor from colleagues after being taken off life support and wheeled away for organ donation surgery.
Patrice Sanders, 58, passed away Thursday, with distraught family members and colleagues lining the corridors of Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno as her body was taken to an operating theater.
Her sister Paige was in tears as she walked through the corridor behind the hospital bed.
‘It’s really touching to see all the people that she’s touched and to who she meant so much to,’ she told ABC 13.
Patrice was first diagnosed with gastroenteritis, before doctors determined she suffered a bilateral stroke. Her health continued to decline.
Hospital staff formed a guard of honor to pay tribute to beloved children’s nurse Patrice Sanders in California who died after suffering a stroke
Her sister Paige (right) was in tears as she walked through the corridor behind the hospital bed
Devastatingly sad footage of Patrice’s send-off has been shared by her family in the hopes of encouraging other people to sign up for organ donation.
Nurses were seen crying while others squeezed her hand as their much-loved colleague made her final journey.
Her family followed close by and were visibly-distressed at their loved one’s death.
Patrice, who was a Valley Children’s Hospital nurse for 36 years, recently phoned her sister to tell her she was not feeling well.
She then underwent testing and was diagnosed with gastroenteritis but continued to feel sick.
Her family took her back to hospital, where doctors discovered she had suffered a bilateral stroke.
‘We had a meeting with the surgeon who told us that her probable outcome was not going to be favorable, that she would have many disabilities,’ Paige said.
Patrice made a series of end of life requests, including donating her organs, and her family wanted to honor this.
Patrice Sanders was being wheeled away for surgery to donate her organs on Thursday when the workers stood to pay their respects at the Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno
Nurses were seen crying while others squeezed her hand as she was taken for organ donation surgery
Patrice made a series of end of life requests, including donating her organs, and her family wanted to honor this
‘She saw many children die at Valley’s Children’s during her time there as an RN. She always had a great respect for the children who donated their organs, and I think that example for her was an inspiration for her,’ Paige added.
Jaclyn Manzanedo, who works at Donor Network West, said around 22,000 people in California are waiting for an organ transplant.
‘Giving the gift of life, it seems like it was in line with what she did throughout her life,’ she said.
‘It’s a beautiful way to leave that legacy that she left both in life and after her passing.’
Patrice’s family is celebrating the life she led and will remember the love she frequently showed to others.
‘She loved well, was well loved and is continuing to love others that she doesn’t even know,’ her sister Paige said.
