Hennigs Scholarship honors students’ care, patient’s life
Ashley Peterson, RN, who graduated this spring, received the first Anne Hennigs Memorial Scholarship from the Rev. Lowell Hennigs of Elkhorn.
“Receiving this scholarship showed me how much nursing can affect a family’s life. I felt so honored to receive it from a family that was so selfless at such a sad time in their lives,” says Ashley Peterson, RN, the first nursing student to receive the Anne Hennigs Memorial Scholarship. Peterson, now graduated and working at BryanLGH East, was part of a group of nursing students that took care of Anne during her illness. “I give this gift to celebrate Anne’s memory and to express my gratitude for the care she received (and that we all received) from BryanLGH student nurses,” wrote the Rev. Lowell Hennigs after his wife’s death. “We got acquainted with the nursing students giving her care in ICU,” Pastor Hennigs says. “We were deeply impressed with those young folks. Each of them in their own way connected with us. The depth and personal human connection made their care all the more effective. They joined us in our weeping. “The students came with beginners’ eyes. They learned from us. I hope they learned that healing doesn’t always lead to cure.” He says disease sometimes wins in the short run, but his faith in God sustains him. Pastor Hennigs brought Anne to the emergency room in November 2010 with flu-like symptoms. She was kept overnight, and at 4 a.m., he got a call that she was unresponsive. A staph infection had spread to her heart and brain, and Anne was in a coma. She was in the ICU for nine days, then died at home two days later. The day after Anne’s death, Pastor Hennigs wrote to the care givers in ICU, “I cannot begin to thank all of you for your compassion, care, patience and perseverance during Anne’s stay. Your care for all of us was marvelous, meaningful and made a real difference in Anne’s life and in our lives. You have cared for us and healed us in every way that matters now. Thank you.” In that letter, he named the students (who graduated in December 2011) and said, “I have such high hopes for the students. We hope that what they learned can be part of the meaning and purpose of Anne’s illness and death.” The family members were so moved by the students’ care that they decided to use part of Anne’s memorial gifts to create a scholarship. “We’re honored to be able to do it,” he says. “It reflects the kind of person Anne was. She was involved in building peace and justice for the next generation.” The relationship with BryanLGH student nurses has continued. Pastor Hennigs gave the benediction and the invocation at the spring 2012 commencement. He wanted to communicate two things at graduation: gratitude and the important calling of nursing. He said that one student nurse told him that he would have made a good nurse. “I take that as the highest possible compliment,” Pastor Hennigs concludes. n To learn how you can support the BryanLGH College of Health Sciences, please call the BryanLGH Foundation at 402-481-8605.
30 Summer 2012