My brother was a patient in the ICU for 30 days. He came to the ER after an accident involving trusses while setting them for a house he was building. Unfortunately, he passed away. He was only 41. He has a beautiful family, and I will always be so proud of him. He had just retired as  Fire Chief after 20 years of service, 10 years as Chief, three weeks before his accident.

While at UK, he received the absolute best care possible, and so did we, as his family. I want to give an extra praise to the following people, but there are many more: Dr. Andrea Doud, Dr. Christopher Pearcy, RNs Nick Wilson, Samantha Webb, and Taryn Lanham. There was also a nurse, Taylor, but I do not know her last name. Not only were they excellent caregivers to my brother, but they also became close to my family and me.

They handled everything passionately, professionally, kindly, and most of all, they did it well. My father refused to leave the hospital. He said he would not leave until my brother did, no matter how long or how he left. He stayed there for 30 days, and he even got asked by a security guard if he was homeless (ha ha). When he told the guard why he was there, the guard simply said he understood and told him it was okay. He even met a nurse in the elevator who asked him, "Are you the man with the son on floor 7?" (My brother's wife stayed in the room with him, which is why my dad was sleeping on the couches in the waiting room.)

Every time a doctor or nurse left the room, they asked if we needed anything. They were compassionate when we cried and offered personal advice only when asked. On his last day, his son, who is 20 and was at the accident site, asked if they would run blood tests just one more time. Just one more time to see if anything improved. The doctors knew it wasn't going to improve, but they did it anyway. I simply cannot give enough praise to your hospital and staff. Even though my brother didn't survive, it is because God needed him more, not because your staff didn't do their job.

We had a large visitation lasting 6 hours, and most of the people mentioned above came. It was so heartwarming to know my brother touched their lives even in his darkest days. They all cried - hard - and I know they wish they could have done more, even though we know they did everything they could. God needed my brother, and we have accepted that, even though it has been so hard and so tragic. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. My sister and I have a blood drive scheduled in honor of my brother. It is with the Ky Blood Bank, because we know they provide blood to UK Hospital. He was given so much blood during his stay, and as a community servant, we know this would be something he would be proud of.

We hope that the blood given that day will be life-saving for others who are blessed to be cared for in your hospital. In all this tragedy, we know that God is good. All the time. Even on the darkest days.