I have Lupus, and I am in the hospital a lot. I can’t expect family and friends to be there every time, and I don’t want to, but it can get lonely and scary. Karlene made me feel safe every day with her warmth and kindness; she checked on me, remembered that I liked hot packs when she came back to her shift, and checked to see if I needed new ones. Karlene remembered that I missed my cats, and she showed that she cared about how I was feeling.

Karlene explained what was happening each step of the way and drew diagrams for me. She never seemed inconvenienced by me when I needed help, and always wanted me to be comfortable. It’s hard to be in the hospital without your friends and family, so to have someone show you so much love and kindness changes everything. She’s also so good at giving shots, you can barely feel it. I wish she could be my nurse every time I went to the hospital.