My son, D, was in the hospital for several months. D was a critically ill 35 year young man. During his stay he was on several different floors, the last being 6 North. While on the other floors, we really didn't know who the Nurse Leaders were, but as soon as we were moved to 6 North we met Nurse Leader Sheron Blaire. Wow, is there a presence on the days she works. She came in every day that she worked to check in on D and us to make sure that we were taken care of and to see if we needed anything. This was an extremely emotional time for D and us. My husband and I lived in Southern California, but we moved to Emeryville to care for our son. We were with D 24/7 caring for him. We alternated between the two of us staying the night. We promised our son that he would never be alone, and we kept that promise.

Living in a hospital for that amount of time is very tiring and stressful. Well, Sheron did her best to make sure that we were as comfortable as could be in a hospital. When she was working, she was definitely present. She arranged and helped us take D outside in his wheelchair to get fresh air and sunshine on two different occasions. That meant the world to D because he had spent 5 1/2 months inside the hospital, usually in his hospital room. Sheron also made arrangements to move us to another room, which was a larger corner room that allowed us more room. D had dialysis in his room so it gave us a bit more space.

D required a lot of care. He was on a medication that made him have several bowel movements a shift, and at times, he wasn't able to get up to get to the commode. Sheron wouldn't hesitate to help us clean him up if she were there. She always did it with a smile and never made D feel bad. Sheron cares about the patients on her floor. She is a professional, compassionate, and amazing leader and nurse. She definitely makes things happen.

We were on 6 North for about 2 1/2 months. There are no words to express the impact that she made on D and on us. When you spend that much time in the hospital, the nurses start to feel like family. Our daughter, who is a nurse and our son, who is a fire fighter and paramedic were also amazed with Sheron. We know how busy nurses are so we are eternally grateful for the care and love Sheron showed to my son and to my family.

Our son passed away in April and Sheron has called to check in with us to see how we are coping. That goes over and beyond her duties as a nurse. Just knowing that she truly cared enough to do that touches my broken heart. I hope that Sheron gets recognized for all that she does. She truly is an asset to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Oakland.