I was admitted to the OSF ICU burn unit for 2nd degree burns on my chest and 3rd degree burns on my lower left leg, including an eventual skin graft. I was in the unit for a total of 15 days. Alyssa Giordano was my nurse during the first week of my stay.

Her skill, knowledge, and confidence were very reassuring during the difficult times of debriding. She never gave me false hope. She was kind, confident, and frank about what to expect with my skin graft. She was my nurse coming out of the skin graft. After working several days in a row, she really extended herself on the day of my surgery.

My family was unable to be there, and she was the one to reassure me that things went well and I was going to be ok. I'd like to close by thanking Alyssa for her strong role as a nurse, her frank honesty about what to expect, and the confidence necessary to make my wife comfortable enough with the skin graft surgery that she was able to be away on the day of surgery.

It was great to have her as part of my recovery process. Thank you very much, Alyssa.