After lifetime of service, dying pediatric nurse donates organs to help kids in need
Patrice Sanders was a children’s hospital nurse who hated needles, but that didn’t stop her from donating blood.
“She was a blood donor for the last several years of her life,” her sister Paige Sanders said about the nurse of 36 years, adding that she worked at Valley Children’s hospital in Madera, California, about 23 miles northwest of Fresno.
“Even though she was a nurse and she could give shots and start IVs, she hated a needle going into her own arm, and yet she went and gave blood as often as she could,” she said about her sister, who she lovingly called “Tri.”
That’s just the way she lived her life, and that generosity continued on June 13 when she suffered from a brain bleed and donated her organs to those in need. She was seen off with an honor walk surrounded by family, friends and medical staff at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.
During honor walks, medical staff wheel patients through the hallway surrounded by loved ones, taking the patients to the operating room so they can donate their organs.
The hallway was packed with people who loved, cared for, and worked with Sanders, 59.
Sanders’ family held the honor walk after someone at her job suggested it. They decided to hold one for her at Community Regional Medical Center and be part of the honor walk for Patrice, her sister said.
“It was a mixture of the RNs and doctors that worked with Patrice at the children's hospital, and a mixture of the nurses and doctors at CRMC who had cared for Patrice,” her sister said. “We had family members and close friends … who were all a part of the honor walk.”
Her sister called the event “touching” because she was moved by the support people showed Sanders. Some people even reached out and grabbed her hand as they wheeled her down the hallway to take her to the operating room.
“It was amazing to see that support,” her sister said.
Nurse always put the children at work first
Sanders was one of many children born to her parents, all red-heads, her sister said. She also has a twin named Paula.
The family is originally from the Los Angeles area but moved to Madera in 1967.
She graduated from California State University, Fresno in 1987 and immediately got a job at Valley Children's Hospital. She worked in the emergency department then moved to the pediatric intensive care unit and the recovery room, her family said.
She also spent some time working as a helicopter transport nurse.
Jaskiran Dhillon met Sanders in 2006. Sanders was her preceptor, showing her the ropes, from pumps to caring for critically ill patients and managing medications.
Now a pediatric ICU nurse at Valley Children’s Hospital, Dhillon said Sanders took her under her wing.
“Without judgment, she was going to help you in every way to get you through your day. I felt relieved every time she was on shift with me. I knew I had that person I could just run to and ask any question … She was the expert. She had all the answers.”
Even when they worked in different departments, Sanders would stop by and greet Dhillon. They also spent time together outside of work.
Years ago, Sanders had only known Dhillon for a year but still threw her a baby shower. She also taught Dhillon how to quilt. She often used colors such as purple, her favorite, and .
“My kids play soccer,” Dhillon said, adding that Sanders told her to save their soccer jerseys for quilts. “We were going to make another blanket when they graduate out of their jerseys. I can't find anybody else to do that. I'm really going to miss that.”
Sanders also made handprint quilts for children in the ICU. She’d stock up on quilts for kids and their families. She’d quilt the imprint of a child’s hand and give it to their families.
She had truly dedicated her life to the children she cared for.
“You will not find too many people who spent 36 years taking care of these sick, sick babies and wanting to do it with all her heart,” Dhillon said. “You just don't see that anymore.”
Sanders also worked with families who decided their children would donate their organs once they passed. She helped them come to terms with their children passing and how they can help children in need.
She was great at helping children get up and out of bed so they could heal, Dhillon said.
“That takes a lot of patience, kindness, empathy and compassion to get them out of bed and help them get along with their healing journey,” she recalled. “She was part of every single step for these kids.”
Nurse suffered from brain bleed
Sanders’ sister, Paige, said the 59-year-old went to work the week she died and fell ill. After a few days of sleeping on and off, they learned she had a brain bleed that would’ve left her disabled.
“My sister did not want to live with disabilities,” her sister said. “She didn't want to be on a ventilator. She didn't want to be non-communicative. She wanted to live a full life.”
Paige remembered a document Sanders had signed called Five Wishes.
It’s a legal document where an individual lists the decisions they’d like loved ones to make in the event that they are hurt or suffering from life-threatening injuries. On her document, Sanders had listed that she wanted to donate her organs.
Sanders also wrote that she did not want life support treatment, nor did she want to live with permanent or severe brain damage.
“If I cannot carry on meaningful conversations with my loved ones and carry out my own activities of daily living, I do not wish my life to be extended,” Sanders wrote on July 3, 2020 in her document.
‘She’s OK’
Sanders wasn’t just kind at work. She was also loyal to her church community, where she worked with a food distribution team. She donated money to organizations helping those in need and she even reached out to prisoners in the Central California Women's Facility, a prison.
She loved to hike and three weeks prior to her death, she completed a 13-mile hike in Colorado.
She was also a San Francisco Giants fanatic, so her family played the Giants game for her the night before she passed. It was Donate Life Day, celebrating organ donation.
“The person who threw out the first pitch was a pediatric recipient,” her sister said.
Sanders did all she could to make her end-of-life arrangements. She had a funeral file her sister was able to refer to after she passed. In it, she included a scripture from the bible: Isaiah 40:31.
“They shall mount up with wings like eagles,” her sister recalled the scripture saying. “Guess what landed in our driveway for the first time in 19 years that we've lived on this property? An eagle landed in the middle of our driveway on Monday morning and stayed there for a while … We took (that as a sign that) she's okay.”
Sanders leaves behind her mother, her older sister, her twin sister, her brother and three nieces.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California nurse Patrice Sanders gives final gift with organ donation
