While my grandmother was receiving her end-of-life care, a few of the nurses were great, but Todd stood out not only for giving her the best care but also for the genuine empathy he showed me. When her pain escalated, he immediately sought out new orders from the M.D., and when it seemed like her meds weren't working, he carefully evaluated and found that her IV was leaking and she needed a new one. The fact that he explained to me what went wrong is the only reason why, 2 days later, when the meds weren't working, I knew to tell the nurses to check for a leak, which would have been missed, and she would have suffered even more.

The night I stayed at the hospital when Todd was my Nana's nurse, I told him that I like information and facts, so he took the time to answer even my unusual questions and would explain things as they were happening. He involved me in her care and taught me the simple things I could do to help keep her comfortable. In every round, he made sure to show that she was still important and worth his time, even though she had no real awareness. He did many little things that others didn’t, but the most impactful thing was when he brought in his stethoscope and let me listen to her heartbeat for a minute; somehow, he just knew that was exactly what I needed. I will forever cherish that moment. It may sound like a simple gesture, but it was an extremely powerful one, giving me an opportunity I don’t think anyone else would have thought of or made time for.

When she took her last breath, I was able to find some comfort in the memory of hearing her heartbeat; it was a truly amazing gift. I hope he knows how much that meant to me and gets the recognition he deserves for going above and beyond for his patient and for her family, he showed the most compassion I've ever seen and I feel very lucky that he was her nurse.