My father-in-law was recently a patient at Floyd. He was admitted with pneumonia and sepsis. The family who are not healthcare workers were very concerned about the sepsis diagnosis. Katherine was so caring for my mother-in-law, Mary Ann; she explained his admitting diagnosis to her in terms she could understand and put her mind at ease. What most didn’t know was that with Frank in the hospital, Mary Ann also has an adult mentally handicapped child at home who needs to be cared for.

There were times she was unable to be there as someone had to care for Cindy. However, the compassion and general empathy from Katherine put her at ease so that her husband was cared for. We, myself, and Frank’s son Rick, live almost 2 hours from Floyd. We visited on Sunday at mid-morning. I have been an RN for 20+ years in ER/ICU as a background, and now work in administration as a director of a unit. As nurses, we all know that is the last thing we ever divulge in a hospital setting.

On entering the room. We asked Katherine for an update. She was in another room. I was at first aggravated as Frank's breakfast was on the bedside table, untouched and out of his reach. Him being confused at baseline, was unable to tell me why he hadn’t eaten. After 5-10 minutes since asking for his nurse, Katherine entered. She was a positive ray from the minute she entered the room. She greeted us with a smile as she cleaned her hands with foam on entering.

When asking about breakfast, she immediately apologized and did not attempt to justify it. She stated there had been a mistake and no one had helped him, and apologized to us for it, and that she would ensure it did not happen again. She never once made an excuse for it, which to me spoke volumes; she did not place blame or excuse, merely apologized sincerely.

From there, she very patiently answered all of my and my husband's questions, even logging into the computer at the bedside to make sure she was giving me the correct lab values. Part of the way through the convoy, my husband, Frank's son, ratted me out as being a nurse, and we both had the same reaction. You never tell them what you do on this side of healthcare! All kidding aside, the genuine connection with Katherine made her above and beyond.

We spoke about our children and their career choices, and she stated how blessed and proud we must be of them. Then the joy and twinkle in her eyes when she spoke of her own young son only transferred over to when she spoke to Frank. She assured him and us that she would make sure he was taken care of, and that someone would help with his lunch, and she would make sure to make time to check and make sure he was helping himself. She spent a good amount with us and apologized numerous times.

But her absolutely genuine character showed through in a situation that could not have been handled as well. Often in stressful situations in healthcare, we want to call out the wrong and seek somewhere to blame. Katherine’s ability to simply say “I’m so sorry” and mean it, allowed us to leave that day and know Frank would be taken care of, and the same issues would not occur.

We shared with her that we were also caring for special needs adult children at home, which complicated someone being present with Frank, and she told us: Call as much as you want, as often as you want, and I will answer and update you. I cannot truly say how much burden and weight were lifted by her compassion, empathy, and interaction. Her smile and soft-spoken voice alone are infectious and comforting. Beyond that, she made a true connection with us.