I’ve been hospitalized on this unit for a little over a week, and I’ve had some amazing nurses throughout this week. Tonight is my first time having Naftali as a nurse, and though I’ve had some pretty amazing nurses, Naftali has made this whole hospitalization a little more comforting. I find it ironic that he was my nurse today because my family didn’t come visit today so I was really on edge, I felt like I had no one to advocate for me just in case I was in a lot of pain and needed breakthrough medication or anything of that sort. As soon as Naftali came in to introduce himself, he saw that I was really itchy, and before I even got the chance to mention it to him, he questioned it. I explained to him that I was feeling really itchy and how I was scratching my skin really badly to the point that it was stinging. As soon as he left my room, I heard him on the phone with the provider, and he was asking if I could have something to stop the itching. He then came into my room and reassured me that the provider would be ordering something shortly. When he came in to give me the medicine for itching, I also told him that I was in so much pain, and again, he instantly got on the phone with the provider and told them that I was in a lot of pain and if they could give me some medication. When he came back again to give me the pain medication, I thanked him profusely for getting everything done so quickly, being that I was extremely uncomfortable, and I apologized for having him come in and out of my room. He told me there was no need to thank him or apologize because he is just doing his job. I told him I appreciated how much he was advocating for me, and he explained to me that this is what he’s here for, and he understands that it isn’t easy being in the hospital and going through all the pain I was dealing with. That’s when I realized that I had to nominate him for this award because not too many people have the patience and compassion that Naftali has shown me.

With me having Sickle Cell Disease, I’m usually anxious asking the nurses for multiple things, especially pain medication, because of the stigma that people associate with sickle cell patients, but Naftali made me 100% comfortable. Watching him advocate for me was very comforting and made me feel safe, and I just want to show my gratitude by nominating him for this award. It would mean so much to me if he were honored because it would kind of be me thanking him in a way that’s meaningful. I strongly believe he deserves it. If he treats all his patients the way he treated me, then he absolutely deserves some recognition. He really stood out to me because I was upset that my family couldn’t make it to visit and advocate for me and he came to work and instantly started advocating for me on which medication the provider should give me that would actually work for me and he made sure I got it very quickly. I’ll never forget how promptly he made sure I had the medications to make me comfortable. Naftali is an amazing nurse and truly loves his job and cares about his patients!