Everyone in the ICU has provided great care for my mother; however, Ellen has consistently gone above and beyond. It's the smallest of things like making sure her lips are not chapped, putting her hair in a ponytail to keep her hair out of her face, playing her favorite music for her, blankets on the bed rails so that her knees don't get hurt, the list goes on and on. While taking care of my Mom, she also constantly checked on me. Telling me things like, "You look worried today, what can I do?" Or "I need you to go home and get some rest, I got her, she is good, she is now my family."

On my first day here with Mom, I broke down. It's hard seeing your Mom hooked up to a breathing machine, and I was just not prepared. I had my head down on my Mom's bed, and Ellen took my hand and squeezed it so hard. She told me, "I am not scared. You do not need to be scared until I am scared". I will never forget that, even though she says we will never think of her again once my Mom is out of here. We will have to agree to disagree on that!

The icing on the cake, Ellen has treated my mom with the utmost respect and dignity. When you have a family member suffering from addiction, you are used to judgment. You hear, why don't they just stop? Ellen tells my Mom every single day that she knows it's hard, and she is doing great, and how proud she is of her, while simultaneously wiping the sweat from her forehead with a cool towel. Ellen is an amazing nurse, but more than that, an amazing human with a heart bigger than this whole hospital. I will be forever grateful to her.