Shea Williams is an angel on this Earth. Truly. Our daughter had been battling two forms of cancer by the time we met Shea in November 2023. She had numerous hospital admissions and spent almost 1/3 of 2023 in the hospital before she passed away in December 2023. We have had many nurses come in and out of our lives over this time to care for her. Shea Williams made the greatest impact on our family.

At the point we met Shea, our daughter was on a ventilator in the ICU. Even though she could not respond to commands or talk with us, Shea was respectful and treated her kindly, as she does with all her other patients. She would ask her questions and patiently hoped for a response. She was friendly. She was knowledgeable. She was so welcoming of our family each and every time we saw her. At times, she was the Nursing supervisor on the unit and not our daughter's direct nurse. Each time, she would take the time to stop in and check on our daughter, but also check on us to see how we were doing and if we needed anything. We felt so comforted when she was around and knew we were in the best hands. Shea was also so patient with our family, taking the time to explain anything we were confused about, inviting us to ask questions and granting us grace to "have a moment" when we felt overwhelmed with our situation.

One morning, when we arrived at our daughter's ICU bed, Shea had soft spa music playing in the room for her and was massaging her cute bald head as Shea felt that was a way to give her comfort and help reduce stress that she was likely feeling but unable to explain to us. It brought tears to my eyes to see such a display of compassion and empathy. When we met with our daughter's care team to discuss removing her from her ventilator, Shea was present in the room as she was the Nursing Supervisor that day. She was so patient with us, took the time to answer some really hard questions and was so complimentary when we were processing our reality. She made sure we had space to cry and arranged to have some food brought up to us as we started to say our goodbyes.

Shea is the kind of nurse and person you hope to have on your team while going through such an exhausting and emotionally draining process. There was a reason she was put in our path as we navigated the unimaginable with our daughter. We are so thankful for that and truly feel blessed to have met Shea. Our only regret is that our daughter was on a ventilator while in the ICU and wasn't able to fully meet and get to know Shea. There is no doubt that she would have been one of her favorite nurses too. To be 100 % honest, Shea was so inspiring that our daughter's boyfriend, who is going back to school looking into a career in the health sciences, is currently considering a career in nursing. She encouraged him during their talks and he had such a high level of respect for Shea, that he took her words to heart.

Kind. Empathetic. Inspiring. Caring. Patient. Friendly. Welcoming. Hardworking. Respectful. Just a few of the many words we would use to describe Shea Williams. UCSF is so lucky to have her!