Heather was a phenomenal nurse for my wife. Having been through similar circumstances herself, she understood our situation, which made her understanding, compassionate, and full of love and hope. Heather was there the night my wife was brought in, a very stressful, life-and-death situation. She was always calm, and she possessed a sense of peace that only comes from a true believer in Christ. She used her faith to witness to others during our difficult time. Ever since we met Heather, we requested her every time she was on duty. She was consistently loving, compassionate, and caring towards my wife, genuinely invested in her healing. Heather was also very friendly with our family and friends, immediately connecting with all of us as if she had been a member of our family for many years. She would play along with our silly family jokes and joke with us lovingly to keep our spirits up, teasing my wife just to elicit some responses from her. Heather expressed that she likes it when her patients get feisty because it indicates they are showing some fight for survival and signs of improvement. Heather worked with my wife for almost a month. I will never forget the day the decision was made to take my wife off life support. We invited her, and Heather came in on her day off to be with us. She was also working with us the day we moved up to the hospice floor, preparing my wife for the transition and pushing her upstairs. As we were leaving our MICU room, a crowd of nurses who had been with us the whole time gathered around, visibly upset that this was the end of our journey.

After Heather handed my wife over to the hospice staff and turned to go back downstairs, I could see she was deeply affected by the situation. It was clear how much she loved and cared for her and our family. Our first night in the hospice room, Heather came to visit after her shift just to check in on us and see how we were doing, returning periodically over the next week. It was a horrible situation, but Heather made it bearable. We almost looked forward to going to the hospital just to see her. I can never thank Heather enough for helping me navigate the most difficult time in my life. She always brought light to the darkness and reminded me of my wife. If my wife were aware of anything at all, I know she would have loved Heather too. Heather showed her love, compassion, respect, and hope. Truly, Heather is a gem. I am so thankful to have met her. I cry just trying to find the words to thank her. I believe we will stay in touch with Heather and many of the other MICU nurses for years to come. They were all great, and we love them all. Thank you, Via Christi MICU nurses, thank you, Heather.