D was admitted on Christmas Day 2024. His hernia surgery site became infected. He’s been in the hospital for 9 days now. His first night here was rough, as pain management was still being worked on and nurses were short-staffed, making attentiveness non-existent. I had to go home to our young children on the 26th. When I called D on the 27th, he told me about the amazing nurse that he had on duty the night before. She was extremely attentive, and D’s comfort was a priority for her. She moved his IV site so he could sleep and move his arm comfortably. She talked with him at the beginning of her shift to get a scope of his concerns and did what she could to help. She made a mental note of his scheduled medication time and kept his pain levels under control. She helped/offered to help him take a shower so he could feel some kind of normal and comfort. She drained his dressings too. He was ecstatic and felt seen and cared for.

A few days later, I got to meet Shay. She was one of the sweetest people I’d met here. She was very open and forthcoming with information that wasn’t relayed to us to help rid our confusion. I expressed how nervous I was to bring Den home on a wound vac. Shay found a special time out of her shift to find, print, and highlight information about the device for us to calm our nerves. In a time of confusion, anxiousness, and fearfulness, Shay brought our family comfort, peace of mind, and most of all hope. At the end of her stretch of working with D, she wrote us a letter telling D how much she enjoyed working with us and that he would be a patient she would never forget. If you ask D what his favorite thing about Shay was, he’ll say “her consistent attentiveness.” Thanks for everything, Shay!