For an Oahu mother and son, healthcare is a family affair

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Fresh off of Mother’s Day, this year’s Nurses Week carries special significance for a Hawaii family.

Before working alongside his mother Jessica at the Queen’s Medical Center, Jordan Tomas looked up to her.

It was during high school internships at the hospital when he realized he wanted to follow mom’s footsteps and pursue a career in healthcare.

“She had a lot of knowledge she was able to share with other nurses around her and also the nurse aides, and I was really moved by how well she was able to conduct herself,” Jordan said.

So Jordan dedicated himself and earned a masters degree in nursing from the University of Washington in 2020.

But during the height of the COVID pandemic, mom worried he wouldn’t be able to come back home.

“I wasn’t even able to attend his graduation because of the pandemic there’s no graduation, so it’s all online,” Jessica Tomas said. “I was looking at him and I thought, ‘oh is this the future for us? You can’t see your family at all because we don’t know yet at that time.”

Eventually, Jordan found his way back to the islands, landing a position in the Cardiac Comprehensive Care Unit.

With nearly 40-years of nursing experience, mom can’t help but keep a close eye on her new colleague.

“When I see him struggle, I struggle too, I really want to help him,” Jessica explained. “I have that motherly feeling of let me go and help him, let me do his work, no just kidding, he can do it.”

And Jordan admits, he’ll still be scolded once in a while, but appreciates having his mother as a mentor

“I still call her mom in front of everyone and I’m not ashamed to say that,” Jordan said. “Even though she’s a nurse for so long, I still think of her as mom first and foremost.”

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