Denver Catholic

For palliative care doctors like Natalie Rodden, these challenges are especially unique. Rodden leads the palliative care team at St. Antho- ny's North Health Campus in Westminster, which consists of her, a social worker and a chaplain. In her role, she typically works with patients who are dealing with chronic illness and their family, helping to provide relief from the symptoms for the patient and relief from the stress for the family. "We say in palliative care that we hope for the best but we prepare for the worst," Rodden told the Denver Catholic. "We try to help patients and families work through this." Coming from the Latin word palliare, which means "to cloak" or "to shield," palliative care doctors like Rodden are trained in helping to support patients and their families through serious illness, whether it be a chronic diseases such as cancer or other serious conditions such as Alzheimer's. "I spend a lot of time working in the intensive care units, helping families and working with patients who may have a relapse of a disease or a new diagnosis of a serious disease or a traumatic situation happen and helping them cope," Rodden continued. "We look at the suffering a patient experi- ences from a physical component, but also the emotional, social and spiritual aspects as well. It's very holistic, and I think it's really about promoting the dignity of the person in the midst of a serious illness." In the midst of dealing with COVID -19 patients, her job takes on a new meaning. Not only is Rodden unable to connect with the patient on a per- sonal level, because of the restrictions, family members are also unable to visit their loved one in the hospital. A big part of Rodden's job is to connect with her patients and families on a personal level in face-to-face interac- tions. Now, virtually all of that connection is done remotely. "It's hard because I'm usually at the bedside holding the patient's hands and looking them in the eye and doing a lot of emotional connection with them, but non-verbally, just seeing where they're at. That's immensely challenging over the phone," Rodden said. "It's very difficult when you can't be seeing your loved one every day." At a time like this, Rodden relies on her faith in the Lord to get her through the long days. It grounds her in her own humanity and the understanding that ultimately, despite her best efforts as a doctor, God is in control. "I don't think that I could do my job very well, if at all, without my faith, she said. "I think in this disease, I realize so much more my littleness, I realize my lack of control. I think as doctors, we like to feel this semblance of, 'I know what's going on. I can figure this out. I can make this better.' And I don't know all the time that I can make it better." Originally from the Louisville, Kentucky area, Rodden relocated to Colorado in 2016 after accepting her current position with St. Anthony's. For a palliative care doctor, the timing was quite interesting: As Rodden recalls it, "I took my palliative boards on a Monday, which was the last test of twelve years of school. And then on Tuesday, the next day, physician-as- sisted suicide became legal [in Colorado]." When she entered medical school, Rodden was originally interested in becoming an oncologist. It was during her residency rotations at a cancer center, however, that Rodden gained deeper insight into the kinds of suf- fering people have to endure when dealing with something like a cancer I don't think that I could do my job very well, if at all, without my faith. I think in this disease, I realize so much more my littleness, I realize my lack of control. I think as doctors, we like to feel this semblance of, 'I know what's going on. I can figure this out. I can make this better.' And I don't know all the time that I can make it better." NATALIE RODDEN " 13 DENVER CATHOLIC | MAY 9-22, 2020 Around the Archdiocese

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