Dania Dunkley is a remarkably warm, ebullient nurse whose positive attitude and sunny outlook help her make meaningful connections despite working in big, bustling facilities, including her current assignment at Hartford Hospital. Dania recently had a 19-year-old patient who was scheduled for an MRI. This patient has been battling epilepsy her entire life, so she was no stranger to scans, and going into this MRI said she was fine. When a patient goes into an MRI, they are given a squeeze ball that, when squeezed, will stop the scan. Despite saying she was fine, the patient squeezed early, ending her MRI. She did this three times.

The first time, the patient said she was just a little nervous, and Dania gave her some medication. The medication didn't help as she ended two more scans early and told Dania that she didn't think she could do it. The MRI techs were understandably getting agitated as a 20 minute scan was moving towards the one hour mark. Dania pulled the patient aside each time and took the time to connect with her. They started by talking about difficult things they had been through in life. The patient shared about family members she had lost while Dania shared about losing her sister a few years back before moving onto sunnier subjects and finding some of her "happy thoughts." Dania was able to calm the MRI techs letting them know that she had no friends or family there that day. Dania saw that this young woman was feeling alone that day. The only way she was going to be able to make it through this was the human connection made with Dania and not feeling alone. The final thing they connected over before she was able to complete the scan was their love of travel. Dania not only loves traveling for work but also when she is off assignment. She and this patient had both loved their trips to Ireland and were able to connect over this.

The patient went from being scared and alone to feeling supported and finding things to look forward to in life. Dania also discovered her favorite music and had some Taylor Swift playing for her as she successfully completed the scan. The young woman was emotional and happy upon finishing the scan and gave Dania 'the biggest hug ever.' Dania was able to take someone who was feeling alone and use her supportive, positive spirit to help them with a necessary scan to keep them healthy.