Our son was in the critical care unit from injuries sustained in an auto accident; over those four days, we witnessed the loving care provided by the critical care nurses who were assigned to our son. One of those nurses stood out - Cheryl Loy.

Cheryl was our son's nurse the first night. She not only cared for our son but cared for us; asking how we were doing and if we needed anything, if we had any questions. She truly cared for our well-being and our needs. She would address our son to let him know what she was doing even though he was unconscious. She gave us warm blankets and ice water for the hours and night to come.

The most considerate act was when Cheryl asked if we would like an ink-stamped handprint for our son's seven-year-old daughter; of course, we said yes. That would be a memory and something for our granddaughter to hold onto for the rest of her life because our son was not going to survive his injuries. Cheryl tried to the best of her ability to do this task, but it didn't work. The next day she went the extra mile by going to Michael's craft store to buy several canvases along with pink and purple paint to paint our son's hand and make a hand impression on the canvas. It worked! We all have those handprints to cherish. Cheryl went out of her way that night to go to the store and buy with her own money the items needed to make a lasting memory for our granddaughter.

We are so grateful to Cheryl and the loving critical care team who watched over and cared for our son during those four days. We would not have wanted our son to be in any other hospital than Winchester Medical Center. 

Our son was soon declared brain dead and his organs were donated.