My husband, J, was blessed to have Gabe Poche as his admitting nurse after his hernia surgery. We thought that the amount of time he devoted as he took J's history to genuinely and empathetically understand the details of the surgeries and sepsis that led up to J's condition which now necessitated major abdominal wall reconstruction was extraordinary. But, that was only the beginning of what we would grow to admire in him as we observed OUR nurse in action over the next couple of days. His qualifications were extensive, his having served as a surgical nurse for at least 15 years with our surgeon, and now serving a nursing instructor. We felt lucky to be in his care! Yet, he was warm and personal, and soon began addressing my veterinarian husband as "Doc." You could see that he looked for ways to connect with people, from his patients to his students, to his fellow nurses. His happy optimism was the only thing contagious in our room, and we soon felt that everything was going to be all right and that we could relax from our fears caused from the last terrible experience of almost being left to die from sepsis in a hospital! He was incredibly energetic, a veritable powerhouse of a nurse, and it seemed to be his mission to make the most of every minute of his shift. He watched J like a hawk, and when he found that we had mistakenly received a tray of food that was indicated in the computer, he went straight to work to discover the source of the mistake. When we knew that he was that pro-active about receiving the wrong diet for his post-surgical condition, we realized that we could trust that J would be safe under Gabe's watch. He is fiercely protective of his patients' well-being, and for that, we are deeply grateful.