Jessica Berman, RN

I was recently a patient on the third floor of Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center. All the staff were very pleasant and helpful to me during my stay, but there was one person who truly went above and beyond what I could have ever hoped to experience during my stay. I truly feel the need to acknowledge her efforts because I would not have had the experience I did if it were not for her.

Her name is Jessica Berman. She’s a nurse on the second floor. I was actually a patient on the third floor. My path may not have even crossed with hers, but she took the time to make sure that it did.

Jessica is acquainted with someone who is very close to me, and that person was not available to stay with me for my entire stay. They happened to mention to Jessica that I was there and asked her to just check up on me if she got a chance. I was unaware of this request, and I was completely surprised by her visit. However, I was extremely grateful for her thoughtfulness.

Not only did she bring me flowers and the warmth of her kindness, she truly touched my heart. She stayed briefly, and I thought that would be the end of our interaction, but it was not. I happened to mention to her that I was just really wanting some milk. I had already asked my nurses who were on my floor, but milk is just not something that is available. Well, I understood but I was still very much craving it, so I mentioned it to Jessica, that all I drink is milk and water, and that was my only complaint of my stay.

Without going into too much detail, I was a patient for three days. I had multiple blood and iron transfusions during my stay. I was absolutely miserable and extremely weak. I also suffer from extreme PTSD and other anxiety issues due to an event that severely impacted my life. That makes going to a hospital, much less being a patient in one, next to impossible. That was how I had come to be in the shape I was in, so Jessica had no idea of any of this. She was still unaware of any of this when she was leaving from her first visit.

Her kindness gave me the courage I needed to leave my room and go search for the vending machine because, at that point, the cafeteria was closed, and I really wanted that milk. Her kindness gave me the strength to not only leave my room, but my floor, and go searching for that milk. Sadly, there was none to be found, and I made it back to my room. I was very proud of myself for doing that alone. For me, it was a lot, but I did survive it, and I would have been completely happy with having achieved that.

However, I walked in my room, and there, sitting on the table, were three quarts of milk. I looked on the whiteboard, and there was a simple heart and the name Jess.

When I tell you I cried like a baby, it is not a lie. She truly went above and beyond for someone she does not know. All she knew was that I was a patient, and she happened to know someone that I am close to.

I do not know if she will ever be aware of just how much she did for me that evening, but I felt the need to tell someone.