What Nurse Kandace did would be viewed as her simply doing her job, but the passion behind her actions spoke volumes. It’s something I, as a patient, have never experienced before in the medical field. Nurse Kandace was assigned to my case when I was 27 weeks pregnant with an unfortunate diagnosis of COVID and Pneumonia. She was genuinely concerned about my health and my unborn. So, she committed to helping me walk around the room every fifty minutes, exactly, until the end of her shifts. Sometimes she returned sooner than that, but never forced me if I declined. Thankfully, I was discharged days later with a healthy unborn and signs of improvement in my health.

Approximately two months later, I visited the department to be examined for possible labor. To my surprise, Nurse Kandace was my nurse during triage and remembered me first. She remembered my anxiety about cervix checks, so as she checked me, she thoroughly explained every step to reduce my stress. It helped! However, I wasn’t in labor. Maybe about 1 ½ weeks later, I was admitted to be induced, and I asked for Nurse Kandace from the time I walked through the doors. When she received notice that I had returned, she visited me during her shift and gave me an amazing pep talk. The day I was scheduled to be discharged, I sent a message through another nurse to tell Nurse Kandace she could come to see my newborn son when she wasn’t busy. She did! She held him, spoke to him as if they were buddies, and wished me the absolute best.

It’s been six months since my son’s birth, and Nurse Kandace's passion for her job has encouraged me to re-enroll in school. Although my major isn’t Nursing, I’ve been accepted into the Surgical Tech program. So thank you, Nurse Kandace, for everything!!!