My son has MS, severe neck and back pain treated with narcotics, and had a seizure. He was confused, disoriented, and could barely walk even with a walker. He has been in hospitals before and was always disappointed when a day went by and he was told he wouldn't be discharged, sometimes threatening to leave AMA, and sometimes very angry. Not this time, because of Nancy. What was different about Nancy, you might ask? He takes lots of medications that have been fine-tuned over 20 years, because he often doesn't tolerate or respond to drugs the way doctors would have expected. Getting off his usual regimen and timing can and has caused problems such as an MS flare-up. He has had the experience of being hospitalized and not getting all of the home meds he was prescribed as prescribed. So he frequently asks about his meds, especially when he is confused and disoriented. When he asked, Nancy always double-checked on the computer to verify what he was given and when, and patiently informed him. She always had a smile and, before leaving the room, asked if there was anything else he needed. Nancy professionally and sternly warned him about getting up alone, but did so without anger and was smiling a minute later. When she had to deliver the bad news that he wasn't going home, it was always with a compassionate explanation. She didn't even show any frustration with me when I accidentally set off the chair and bed alarms. He had trouble eating because his hands were shaky, and she quickly jumped in with some ideas to help. His recovery was slower than we would have liked, but she was very observant as to when he was better or worse.

There are 3 other things that stand out to me about how she cared for my son. First, she established a real rapport with him when she shared that she lives on a lake and does fishing and boating. My son has done that since he was a child and it has been something he enjoyed all of his life. They shared some pictures of fish that they caught. After Nancy left the room, he commented to me that "she's really nice". Second, she really listened to him. He explained that he gets plasmapheresis to treat his MS every two weeks and feels really good afterwards. He was overdue. She thought that might help aid his recovery, and asked the doctors. There were some hoops to get that to happen; a question of which team should order it, and the fact that it was usually done on an outpatient basis, while he was an inpatient. Yet it happened with her help. My son told me that the day afterwards, the doctor told him that he never expected to see the degree of improvement that resulted. It was remarkable and completely due to Nancy's initiative. Third was the day he was discharged. As we were about to leave, Nancy hugged him and then me, and wished us the best with a smile of satisfaction. That was personal. That was care and compassion, and genuine joy born of empathy. You can teach illnesses, symptoms, drugs, medical jargon, and interventions. You can't teach what she has.