During my serious illness, I was taken care of by many nice nurses and doctors. Dr. N in the Emergency Department was very compassionate at the bedside. The charge nurses in the ED and in the PCU visited me and validated I was receiving exceptional care. The transporters and Imaging were very professional and checked my date of birth and armband for safety. Dr. S was very thorough in explaining my plan of care and addressing my pain. Dr. J and RN J visited together and made it easy to understand my discharge instructions.

However, there is one particular nurse who really made me feel like I was her number one priority. This nurse was being briefed at the bedside by the dayshift as she was going to be my evening nurse. The first thing that was truly impressive was her active listening to every single word the dayshift nurse was saying, followed by some of her own feedback with questions, all the while, this night nurse was looking me up and down head to toe making internal notes. After the handover was complete, my night nurse went straight for my feet, pointed to my socks, and said, "These are not safe and the floors can be slippery." Before I could utter a word, she already had one of my socks off and the new yellow non-slip hospital socks with grips on, which she did every so respectfully and gently caring for my fragile condition.

After she put on my socks, she said, “I got you.” That made me truly feel good and safe. Next, she went straight to my left side bedrail, and up it went as she explained, “I can’t have you getting hurt, you’re here to get better.” I literally felt like I could totally trust her with my life which immediately made me lower my own personal defenses as I truly don’t like hospitals. My night nurse then went through checking my IV line, bags, and body to make sure I was ok. She carefully explained every single medication I was being given, what it did, and when my next doses were scheduled followed up by writing it on the board.

This nurse also flushed out my IV line with a solution explaining it was saline solution to prevent infection for each and every medication she ran through my line. This incredibly gifted nurse had to draw blood and when she put the needle into my vein, I didn’t even know it was there until blood started filling up in the tube. Honestly, I could probably write a small essay about the true professionalism and compassion this wonderful nurse provided for me and my family, as she also explained everything to them.

During the entire evening, she came into my room ever so quietly and respectfully asking if I was okay or if needed anything at all, that was just something I never experienced or expected. If I were the mayor of the city, I would personally hand this nurse the “keys to the city”, she had the most profound effect on me during one of the most terrifying hospitalizations I have ever experienced in my 47 years of life.

Please give this nurse a standing ovation and salute her for her professionalism, performance, and compassion. Let her train other nurses on how to truly care for patients in need. Please share with Ashley – “You are an amazing nurse; I will always remember your service to me during one of my scariest moments in life. I truly thank you from my heart.”