Our mom had a heart attack and after waiting three weeks in the Acute Heart Failure Unit for surgery, she finally had a quadruple bypass surgery which was going to be complex due to her heart muscle damage, the nature of the blockages, diabetes and borderline kidney failure. Despite that, the surgery was deemed a success. However, what was proposed as a 5–7-day recovery in the Cardio ICU became a two-month, harrowing, terrifying, complex and complicated stay involving multiple doctors, nurses, technicians, tests, and a lot of uncertainty about her future, if any. Our family was commuting 50 miles to spend all visiting hours with my mom who went from being an active grandmother of 2 to a bedridden, sleep-deprived, and very weak patient whose outcomes were dependent on corners being turned.

Our anxious family tried our best to stay levelheaded and trusting in the care team despite our fear. When Matt became our nurse after she contracted COVID, we imprinted on him immediately. He was thorough, knowledgeable, funny, competent and personable. He shared with us his own personal experiences with family members and heart care, and we felt like we had a champion in our corner, an experienced medical professional at the bedside, a soft and capable set of hands caring for mom at her weakest, and a shoulder to learn on for my brother, father, and me.

Matthew stuck with us through her extended stay, checking in on her progress even if he wasn't assigned to her, and became a family member in some of our darkest times. His capacity as a nurse, care strategist, and medical professional was only outweighed by his compassion and emotionally intelligent care. He was a physical therapist, nurse, operations manager, and medical translator for us every day he was on shift. My respect for the profession is further elevated because of caregivers like him. He got my mom through, and us through.