The Jenson Family

Katelynn and Chris fell deeply in love as teenagers. Their love carried them through a beautiful wedding on the hill of local winery, through Katelynn’s education to become a nurse, and the birth of three children. Working a nursing schedule, Katelynn adored the lazy Sundays with her children and husband that occurred every other week. She changed her schedule to accommodate and maximize her time, so either parent was at home with the children.

In sixth grade, Katelynn’s older sister, Jennifer, displayed her soap box derby car in the entryway of our middle school. I thought that was the coolest thing ever, and it called to my adventurous soul to get to know this cool gal and be her best friend. Later on, I lost my younger sibling (of a similar age to Katelynn), and I relished and delighted in celebrating her life milestones.

At Katelynn’s wedding on the winery hill, her dad spoke about how Katelynn, like her older sister, competed in soap box derby racing. He went on to explain before a competition, Katelynn had found a little bird nest and had put it inside her derby car. Her dad described her as so focused and concerned about this little nest that the race became unimportant, and she placed last. He talked about how she focuses on what is important to her and how it will serve her future wisely.

The focus she developed as a child became evident in her work ethic and drive. As a working adult, I got to know her better. . . in a different capacity. Katelynn was promoted to charge nurse on night, and I was lucky to join the same nursing team on day shift. During the shift change of shift at 7am (and pm) I saw her supporting the team, addressing challenging situations, and advocating for policy change. During the shift change, I also heard about her kids, her family, and all the small chat that makes the hard days of nursing completely worth it.

As nurses, some days, we can process difficult patients and situations and make sense of what has occurred on our shift. We debrief with each other where we discuss what we could have done differently to have potentially had a different outcome. Sometimes, despite the best doctors on the care team, everything being done per protocol, and strong nurses, we cannot understand why a situation has occurred.

This is the latter situation.

Katelynn’s soulmate and high school sweetheart, Chris, was admitted to the hospital where she works, transferred through two higher levels of care, died a week later on Monday, December 5, 2022. The details are hers to share, but he was a healthy 37-year-old with no prior medical history.

Katelynn was previously navigating life with a solid and loving partner. She is now left to raise their three children (the oldest is seven years old) by herself. She has given back so much to our local community- even by working in a leadership role through the pandemic (our unit was a Covid unit). She (and the kids) deserve to be returned the same kindness that she has extended unto others. Please donate to help her navigate the financial loss and burden of a sudden loss of partner income, funeral and memorial expenses, daycare, the time needed off for grief work, basic living expenses, and anything else that may arise during this time.

Thank you