At the end of a long and tiring 5-week journey in and out of the hospital, my mother had the pleasure of being attended to by Crystal Ortiz, RN. She was, as you would expect, very intelligent, knowledgeable, and a polished professional in her field. More importantly, in my opinion, is her genuine compassion for her patients, which I witnessed her extend to my mother and my father. The process had been exhausting for both; to the ER, to the ICU, to a rehabilitation center, back to the ER, and on and on until she was back at the ICU, which is where she met Crystal.

Crystal was easily able to establish rapport with my mother, which isn’t always easy to do, as she was feeling extremely nauseous and exhausted from her 5-week stint. Per the understandable hospital regulations, she needed to have her blood pressure monitored, and that entailed regular periodic readings via the evil contracting cuff. However, the contraction of the cuff would set off my mother’s fibromyalgia and cause her immense pain. Watching my sweet mother suffering there in front of me, without the ability to help her, was traumatic for me, so I can’t imagine how it felt for my father, watching the love of his life suffer and being helpless to stop it. I don’t believe you can teach or learn what Crystal has in her tool bag. I understood that there was no option as to whether to have her BP monitored; it was an absolute necessity in her situation. My physically and mentally exhausted parents just weren’t willing to accept this fact. I saw in his eyes that my father was ready to fight for his wife and couldn’t stand to see her in any more pain. This is where Crystal excels. She really listened to their frustrations, concerns, and arguments, truly emphasized with them, and sought out all possible options to find a solution for my demanding parents.

This innate ability that she possesses to quickly and calmly make her patients feel heard and that they are receiving personalized attention is invaluable. I hope this will briefly put a spotlight on the value that Crystal brings to your organization. One can only assume that she works her magic like this all day, every day, whether anyone notices. Undoubtedly, she has expertly guided countless patients and their families through some extremely stressful and emotional situations, helping people all along the way. To say that she is an “asset to her employer” just sounds silly and inadequate; it’s her community that benefits the most from what she does. Crystal, thank you for being who you are and sharing your heart with strangers in their time of need.