One night, about a month ago, very late into our shift, I walked past a room and saw Esteban with his WOW in the pt room seated next to the bed, and he was typing away.  I thought to myself, "Something must be wrong", and as I was thinking that thought, my lead walked by, and so I asked him, "Hey, what's going on in there?" and he filled me in on the details.
The patient was an elderly woman, who was sick, scared, and suffering from anxiety. She had been medicated but her anxiety levels were elevated.  Esteban was her nurse, and he asked her, "What can I do to make you feel better?" the patient replied, "Will you just please hold my hand?"  And so, Esteban pulled his WOW into the room by her side, held her hand with his left hand, and quietly did his charting with his right hand.

As my lead walked away, I just stood there admiring what Esteban was doing to comfort his patient.  In my time here, I have seen many great things and awesome nursing, but that night, I saw the most compassionate act in nursing that I have ever seen, and I want to recognize him for it.  It has never left my mind, and in those times when I am being pushed to my limit, I think about that night, put a smile on, and keep on going.