I was with my 95-year-old father in the ER (his first time as an ER patient. Carole was his nurse starting at 3 AM. She came in to check on him and ME! She introduced herself, updated us, and said enough that I knew she had received an adequate report on him. I had been asleep in a chair next to his stretcher, and without asking her, she put a warm blanket across my shoulders/body. I knew at that moment he and I were in caring, competent hands.

It’s not always what a caregiver does, but how they do it! Not always what they say, but how they say it! I am a retired nurse with 40 years of service (30 years in another area ER). I had high standards for myself and my co-workers. Carole reminded me so much of myself and how I tried to show compassion to others. Although she was only ‘our’ nurse for 4 hours, she was exactly what I needed in that moment when I had so many doubts about my decision to bring my dad to the ER. Truly an angel of mercy who clearly is in the right profession! She reenergized my soul to help me face whatever would lie ahead this day for my dad.