My brother was hospitalized for severe respiratory distress and ended up intubated. When he went to the unit from the ICU, he was given over to the care of wonderful Melanie. He found a huge amount of comfort in Melanie's caring, compassion, and humor, as he was very sick and very scared. She made him laugh when he didn't think he would laugh again. She treated him with dignity and respect and stayed past her shift to sit down with our family to provide updates. Melanie had the courage to have the most difficult conversations with him about the progress of his health and end-of-life decisions. He adored Melanie. The whole family did and offered to adopt her, but she said no. Melanie is a treasure and a gift to her patients.