I am Soledad’s colleague. Years ago, we shared shifts, and it is truly pleasant to see her growth. Something that has always stood out is her sensitivity toward patients who have no voice, and her ability to detect situations that need to be stopped. That is where she makes the difference.

I want to be the voice of a patient named M, a 21-year-old patient who was hospitalized due to cerebral palsy. She always took the time to make sure M was calm. She sang to her, played music for her. She paid attention to the details of her care and always included M, speaking to her as if M could respond. She arranged to take her for walks down the hallways, knowing that it was good for her. She looked at M’s needs from M’s perspective. One day, she took the time to braid her hair so she would look nice when her mother arrived.

Another clear example is one day when a patient passed away after being hospitalized for a long time. It was inevitable that she or her colleague would feel pain.  When the time came to prepare the body, she noticed her colleague’s hand started trembling. At that moment, she asked her to step away and said she would help the other colleague. After that, she found her and took her out for coffee. She talked with her and helped calm the sadness she was going through. These silent gestures of humanity are evident in her. And that is truly remarkable. It makes you want to be a nurse.