Our 77-year-old mother was a patient for two weeks at 3 Central Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. From the shocking moment when Mom tested positive for Covid-19, she knew and told me she was in the right place. She told us Mayo is her "safe haven" -- a special place where 10 years earlier she defeated breast cancer. Sadly, during approximately a week or more prior to her Covid-19 testing, Mom was unable to distinguish her symptoms and lost valuable time that could have enabled early treatment of her infection (e.g. monoclonal antibodies). During Mom's stay, we were kept apprised of every detail of her condition as the pneumonia from Covid-19 changed from bad to worse. Everything was new and frightening to us as we watched Mom struggle to breathe to live. Through it all Alanna Buonanno and the entire 3 Central Nursing staff worked tirelessly and diligently with the doctors in treating Mom and helping Mom and each of us understand her condition, the underlying factors, and limited options while caring for her comfort.

In Mom's final 24 hours, Alanna remained next to her as she enabled access for us to visit her with full PPE gear. Always Alanna was compassionate as evidenced by her attention to every detail available to provide for Mom's comfort as she transitioned to hospice care per Mom's instruction (DNR). Alanna was also concerned about each of us -- my two sisters and me -- as we took turns in the PPE to hold Mom's hand and absorbed the deeply emotional moments of letting go. Alanna obviously cared deeply for her and for us and did everything possible to comfort and care for Mom. Each day Alanna and her colleagues on 3 Central delivered care with excellence -- their knowledge and skills to treat Covid-19 patients and coordinate complexities with patients' families were evident. Alanna stood out as a nurse willing and able to go beyond the normal call of duty in the final moments that counted for us as Mom left us peacefully.