My husband was airlifted into the Neuro ICU from another hospital, and being a 31-year-old who is independent and now having a stroke and unable to move his left side was very upsetting to him. Matthew, his nurse, was amazing with him; they connected and talked as if they were friends for years, and for the first time, I saw my old husband, and opening up to a complete stranger was not like my husband at all.

They talked funny, cracked jokes, and had heartfelt conversations about family and daily struggles. Matthew talked my husband into staying. My husband wanted to leave the hospital because, as I said before, he is very independent, and staying in one spot (like a hospital bed) doesn't work well. He has to constantly be on the go, doing something. Matthew talked to him one-on-one, telling him how serious his condition was, but going further and opening up to him personally as well.

None of our family could convince my husband to stay, but Matthew did. If it wasn't for this amazing nurse who goes above and beyond and actually cares about his patients and doesn't look at them as just a job. He actually cares and would even pull us, family, aside to voice concerns. He would go into detail and explain what was going on for us to understand as a family member.