Katie cared for and supported me in the Cardiac ICU at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania while I underwent care for heart failure before my transplant. Among an incredible care team, Katie stood out. I struggle to put into words all the compassion she provided me and my entire family during an incredibly difficult time, but here are just a few ways she made an impact.

When it came to my physical health, she corrected a misdiagnosed allergy that the doctors missed, figuring out I was allergic to betadine, not Keflex. After weeks of excruciating irritation from rashes over my body, I finally received relief. This also came two days before I would have been wiped all over in betadine for my transplant. She took the time to listen to my symptoms and what I experienced to deduce the allergy. I cannot understate the amount of suffering she saved me from by catching this allergy just in time.

More than my physical health, she provided tremendous emotional support to myself and my loved ones. She brought so much joy, laughter, and jokes at a time when we needed it most. I could not wait until the weekend night shifts when she always requested to be assigned to me. My family always knew I was in extra good hands the nights she looked after me, bringing relief to their anxieties when they could not be at the hospital.

Even when I moved units, she continued to check on me and walk around the floor with me during her breaks. She knew I loved dogs and always made sure that any of the hospital's emotional support dogs came to visit my room. Her two little boys even made me arts and crafts projects of slinky dogs construction paper. It was so touching that she would involve her own family in something that would bring me joy during a hard time. The construction paper dogs went with me for every room change and now live on a shelf in my house.

Her compassion extended not just to me but to all my loved ones. I woke up one night to her and my fiance laughing and watching ridiculous TV shows together when he could not sleep. I saw the relief she brought to my parents as she told them they were doing an incredible job helping to support me. One of the hardest things during my sickness was seeing the toll it took on everyone around me, but [she] made sure to take care of them, too. It has now been seven months since my transplant, and I am even able to look back at my time in the hospital fondly because of her. My recovery has gone relatively well, and I know her care and patience played an incredible role in that.