NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A nurse brought compassion and comfort to a woman dying from cancer, singing her favorite song at her bedside.
Margaret Smith, 63, was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center because of rapidly declining health. She’d been suffering from liver cancer for about a year and doctors said she was too sick to survive a transplant.
But Olivia Nuefelder, a nurse at the facility, did her best to comfort her patient, singing “Dancing in the Sky” by Dani and Lizzy, Margaret’s favorite song.
Margaret’s daughter posted a video of the touching moment on Facebook, where it’s been viewed nearly three million times.
“Words cannot describe the appreciation and love we feel for nurse Olivia, who Mom calls her angel,” Megan Smith wrote on Facebook Monday. Smith said Nuefelder sat with her mother for hours as her anesthesia wore off.
“Your dedication to your patients is beyond any that I have seen,” Smith wrote. “You truly are a beam of light and I cannot thank you enough for the compassion and care and love you shared for my mother.”
Margaret was eventually moved to a nursing home in Cookeville, Tennessee. She passed away Wednesday.
Neufelder is touched by the response to the video and said it’s been a life-changing experience. She’s glad she was able to provide comfort as Margaret faced her dying days.
“Knowing that she will be dancing in the heavens and singing with the angels helps me find peace during this somber time,” Neufelder told radio station 1010 WINS. “This experience has challenged me in many ways.”
