Elena Ansley, RN

I was with my husband every day for his nine-day stay. I can't praise the nursing staff here enough. Words fall short. My husband has not been sick in our 45 years together except for an ulcer in the last century, so to find out in the last few weeks that he had a life-threatening birth defect that required open heart surgery was a shock, to say the least. He's never been on any medication and was the kind of guy who was never sick and never missed a day of work. MCR and the thought of open heart surgery were very frightening and an unknown experience for me and my husband.

Our first experience here was with nurse Elena. Surrounded by monitors and lines and tubes and sounds unfamiliar to us, she worked an unbelievable transformation, making an overwhelming frightening room into a place of laughter and joking. She and the nurse's aide moved like synchronized swimmers arranging treatments, sheets, medications, etc. All the while conversing about Elena's past song publication, the nurse’s aide's boyfriend, and my husband's and my marriage. You would think we were at a family reunion and these were our daughters. We were at ease and no longer afraid. It has taken a week to process it all, but Elena worked a miracle. Elena was so capable and professional. Thank you, our MCR daughter! Like she says, "teamwork makes the dream work."