My 76-year-old mother was admitted after her TNBC metastasized to her brain. When she was admitted, she was suffering from aphasia and then underwent a craniectomy and spent several weeks trying to recover from right side paralysis, aphasia, and dysphasia. It was an extremely difficult time not only for her, but for me, her daughter, as we got new information each day about what the possible options were.

I'm really grateful for the kindness the whole floor showed her during our month there. It wasn't easy to keep her comfortable, especially as her metastatic pain increased, but I want to express my profound appreciation to the nurses that went above and beyond for her, from advocating for changes to meds to keep her as comfortable as possible, trying special positioning or pillows and pads to provide relief, encouraging her and cheering when she showed progress, to telling her funny stories or about their life (which she loved hearing about), or running to the pharmacy on my behalf on discharge day so we could finally get her home, where she was longing to be.

The team ( Alison, Christy/Christine, Jacob, David, and Lizya) on this unit all especially went above and beyond, spending many hours with her and me, trying to make sure she had as much comfort as they could give her, and helping support me in navigating the hospital bureaucracy, which was new to me. The tireless dedication to their patients that these nurses showed was awe-inspiring, and I will never forget the difference they made during our stay.