I cannot say enough about Gary Blair. Although I only met him one day, it was one of the most traumatic days of mine and my husband's life. On Saturday I took my husband to the local ED to get a prescription for what we thought was a respiratory infection. His vital signs were so extreme after 3 hours of not being able to control them he was sent via ambulance the Seton, we arrived at the ED at 11:30 pm. Unbeknown to us, his simple respiratory infection was in fact heart failure. Even more of a shock as he is 46 and perfectly fit. 10 minutes later the ED doctor made the choice to immediately place him in a medically induced coma on life support to allow his body to calm itself, for however long it took and there would be not guessed time frame. By 12 am he was officially in a coma. I am sure you can imagine the shock of the whole situation as I sat and looked at my husband laying there with tubes everywhere. I left the ICU at 4 am to go home and shower and change to return at 7 am.
Gary was the angel that not only took care of him in the ICU that day but also took care of me as I sit in the corner trying to hold myself together alone, as it would take several days for family to come from out of state. I was truly grateful for the compassion and respect he had with my husband. Even in his unresponsive state, he spoke to him with compassion to explain every action he took as he took it. He took his time and paid attention to all the details. He had a true calming personality that helped my shocked state. Although his main priority was my husband he also checked on me. Gary answered and explained every question with compassion. I do not think I could have held myself together that day if it was not for Gary.
My husband never got to meet Gary as he was moved from the ICU before his next shift, but I will never forget him. It may be just another day to them as they are "doing their job" but to me, he was my angel.