I am a UMC employee, but that night, I came to our ER as a patient. The nursing staff in the ER were kind and caring. They made me feel comfortable. My assigned nurse that night was super sweet, too. Being in this stressful situation, I started feeling very emotional and anxious. I was so upset that I could not help but start crying. I was crying in pain and crying due to fear and anxiety.

Ervin, “EJ,” was not taking care of me directly, as he had other patient assignments. While I was alone in my room, with an aspen collar on my neck, and in pain and crying, EJ heard me. He immediately stopped what he was doing to come check on me. “Are you okay?” he asked. I could not stop crying. He was calm. He reassured me. He told me everything would be okay and not to worry. He offered to get me some medicine. The most important thing…. He cared. He cared that I was upset. He cared that I was crying. He cared that I was in pain. Just the gesture of him coming by to check on me was everything! I am a nurse. I knew that, ultimately, I was going to be fine…but at that moment, I felt so much fear. I was uncomfortable, emotional, and stressed. Thanks to the care EJ showed, I was able to calm down. He is someone I will never forget. EJ deserves to know that the care he provides is noticed and felt by the patient. Thank you, EJ, for supporting me that night. You are one amazing nurse!