Watching a parent deal with illness and end of life issues is very painful. As hard as you try, the changes take a toll on you. My dad lost his "get up and go", his smile at times, and his desire to live. He developed a bad nose bleed one night and we brought him to the ER. The nosebleed was not the real issue for us, it was that we knew dad was tired of dealing with it all and was feeling down. Jenifer walked into the room and within 30 seconds my dad had the biggest smile on his face, was laughing, and you would have sworn the two of them were best friends. My dad lit up, and for a brief moment forgot about all his ailments. It was so nice to see him acting care-free. At one point, Jenifer told him that if he wanted to visit her again then he had to make it for something fun like lunch. Her ability to make the ER disappear into the background for my dad was amazing. He could not stop talking about her after that interaction. She made a real connection with him that made him forget he was sick, and afterward, it made him so thankful that we went to the ER. My dad passed, but to this day I still have memories of that visit to the ER. The way he was laughing, joking, and having fun like we were at a party instead of a hospital. For me, it was the look in his eyes. He truly forgot, for a brief moment, that he was in pain. This is what nursing is all about, touching lives and healing people. It looks different for every patient, but for my dad, Jenifer did both.