KAILUA-KONA — Sometimes, a shift in perspective, an adjustment of approach, is all it takes to save a life.
That’s the gift Dee Ono gave to Clayton Punihaole almost 15 years ago. Three years since his passing, Punihaole’s wife, Pamela, now describes Ono as a hero for the impact the nurse had on the entire Punihaole family.
And the Healthcare Association of Hawaii agrees.
The nonprofit honored 18 people throughout the state Oct. 20, in Honolulu during its annual Awards and Scholarship Gala. The organization presented Ono with a Hawaii Healthcare Hero award, one of five caregivers to receive the honor. Pamela Punihaole, who nominated Ono, was in attendance.
“It’s pretty awesome because the public are the ones filling out the forms doing all the nominations, not the peer groups,” Ono said. “So that means a lot to me.”
A registered nurse who continues to work on an as-needed basis with West Hawaii Home Health, Ono, 69, has worked in the field for nearly half a century.
Caring for people in their homes creates a special kind of patient-caregiver bond, she said, adding that after working with the Punihaoles for so many years, their relationship naturally evolved into friendship. And the closeness and candor with Clayton Punihaole began early.
A veteran of the Vietnam War who was exposed to Agent Orange during his deployment, Clayton Punihaole faced a host of problems. His diabetes led to blindness. He suffered from high blood pressure, heart failure, neuropathy, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Then, in 2004, he was told he had end-stage renal failure.
He refused dialysis.
In her nomination letter, Pamela Punihaole wrote, she described her husband’s state of mind and state of being at that time.
“Clayton basically checked out of living and spent his days on the recliner waiting to die,” she wrote.
Then, after a chance meeting in a parking lot and a conversation with Pamela Punihaole, Ono shared some hard words with a man whose life she would soon begin helping prolong by more than a decade.
“I basically asked him if he wanted to see his kids graduate from high school,” she remembered. “Did he want to see his grandchildren and watch them go through school? And then there were a lot of tears. But he made his decision to try dialysis and it worked well.”
Pamela Punihaole said the results of that conversation and the choice to pursue treatment led her husband to resume activities he loved in life. He also went on to advocate for those with disabilities.
“When we first met Dee, we could tell right off she loves what she does,” Pamela Punihaole said. “I nominated her because she took care of my husband for 13 years. She just has this sense of compassion … of caring for people.”
Everything Clayton Punihaole did and everything he became during the next 10 years, his wife credits in part to Ono.
“She literally saved his life twice,” Pamela Punihaole said.
Email Max Dible at mdible@westhawaiitoday.com.
