My husband went to the Louis Stokes VA Hospital ER where it was determined that he needed emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. I was at home, an hour away, when he called, and I needed to arrange a ride in order to be able to get to the hospital.
Dante Attinato was the Charge Nurse on duty, and he explained to me what was going on, and said he would arrange for me to stay at the Fisher House if needed and told me to come directly back to the ER when I arrived, and he would make sure I got to see my husband before surgery. He then called again when I was on the way to let me know that my husband was being prepped for surgery and to confirm my expected arrival time.
To my astonishment, when I arrived at the front main entrance, Dante was waiting for me at the door, and quickly rushed me up to the second-floor surgical unit where my husband was literally on his way into surgery, and I was able to briefly see him before he went in.
Dante also coordinated with the surgical group as to where I would be waiting after surgery. Dante personally took me to the waiting area, and then he went up to the fifth-floor care unit, where all of my husband’s personal belongings had already been sent to. He picked up his belongings and brought them back down to me to take home.
I am certain that, without Dante’s intervention, I would not have been able to see my husband before he went into surgery. I have never experienced someone who, unasked, was so willing and driven to that level of helpfulness to a stranger.
In my opinion, Dante absolutely exhibited incredible compassion and humanity towards us, and was instrumental in making an extremely difficult time much less stressful. In a world that is often now too ugly, it is easy to forget that there are still very kind people, people like Dante. He should be commended and recognized for that.