Following in family footsteps

Tomas Vela has a family heritage of nursing: Both his grandmother and mother were nurses.

“They wanted me to be a doctor, but I don’t like cutting people as much as caring for them,” said Vela with a laugh. “It was hard to convince them this was what I wanted to do.”

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Leita Cowart / AJC Special

Tomas Vela is a nurse at Embracing Hospice. ‘Unlike oncology, where we’re trying to find a cure, hospice offers a different kind of hope. The focus shifts to having a peaceful death,’ he said.

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Vela pursued the family profession while working as a radiology technician. He earned his RN degree eight years ago, and then spent five years as an oncology nurse at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. His experience working with critically ill patients led him to Embracing Hospice in Cumming.

“It was a natural progression for me,” said Vela, of Cumming. “Once a [cancer] patient is done with chemotherapy and radiation, they go home and we’d never get to see them die well.

“I really wanted to see what the other side was like. When a hospice opened nearby my home last July, I took a leap of faith and went to work doing home-health hospice.”

Vela earned the thanks of Maureen Draxler, a member of the church he attends. She asked for help when her husband, a brain cancer patient, disappeared in his car. Vela helped find him and arranged for the man to be admitted to the hospital.

“I could barely think straight,” Draxler wrote in her nomination. “Fortunately, I had Tommy, who took charge of the situation. He stayed with me through the day and evening while they did surgery on my husband, and took notes while the doctor spoke with us.

“He was truly a fine credit to his profession that day, and showed us what a devoted nurse can do.”

By caring for patients during their final days, Vela has found his niche.

“Unlike oncology, where we’re trying to find a cure, hospice offers a different kind of hope. The focus shifts to having a peaceful death,” he said.

Taking care of patients is the easiest part of his job, said Vela. “The hard part is taking care of the family. There was a lot of learning there on my part.”

Vela extends his compassion and positive outlook to patients and families.

“I know Mother Nature always wins in the end,” he said, “but I can do something good before she comes along.”