I was admitted to the hospital from the ER department for a pulmonary embolism. I'm 39, a mom of 4, and have only been in a hospital for labor/delivery. My husband was out of town with my son for a hockey tournament as I was wheeled upstairs absolutely terrified of just having heard the words: "blood clot" "lungs" and "pulmonary embolism". Everything was a blur. Elayne was there in my room and introduced herself. I was in tears and scared of all the unknowns.

From the diagnosis to all these medication names to the severe pain I was having - Elayne was a calming presence and explained everything to me, reassuring me I would be okay and that I was in the right place and in the best hands. I was given pain medicine - oxycodone but the pain was at a 10 - the lung tissue death and the pressure of the clot on my diaphragm were causing the extreme pain. She stayed with me and provided me with ice packs and helped reposition me as the doctor worked to control the pain with a combination of medications.

My worried mother got there and Elayne reassured her, too. I can't tell you how through that nightmare of a weekend I was so fortunate to have Elayne as my night nurse. She is a very skilled, compassionate nurse and I'm so very grateful she was there on the worst nights of my life.