Until my recent stay, I had only visited hospitals/ERs on behalf of friends and family, and never because I required this type of care. The experience can be intense and stressful. Kersten, put simply, made this experience less of both.
    
I had no idea what to expect and was given stark news as to why I needed to be admitted to the hospital in the first place. My ulcerative colitis had gotten to the point where immediate medical attention was needed.

Kersten was one of the many incredible nurses I had the pleasure of interacting with during my stay. As one could tell from first meeting her, she had a wealth of experience working with patients. That experience and knowledge came through when handling the more “routine” tasks that one would expect in a hospital: checking vitals, administering medications, monitoring necessary medication information, interacting with other hospital staff on my behalf, and the list goes on.
    
Where Kersten went beyond the “routine” was with what can only be described as the “compassionate aspect” of hospital care, which I feel only the lucky are able to experience.
She made the routine second nature…. 
The terrifying, comforting…
The stressful, calming…
The unexplained, laid out in detail…
The unfamiliar, something to embrace with positivity…
The anxious, less worrisome…
    
She did these things not through her experience and knowledge but through the incredibly unique and special way she approaches her patients, specifically me. The questions she asked and the advice that she gave to show this “compassionate aspect” made me feel less like a patient and more like a family member, of the entire hospital staff. She would spend what little time she had between her other duties, genuinely listening to the worries and concerns I would vent about. At times, these are irrational or “routine,” but she treated them with the same level of compassion. No request was ignored, and no concern was left unattended. She even went as far as to counsel me on my stress levels, both inside and outside the hospital…stress was the very thing that contributed to why I was in the hospital in the first place.

In summary, Kersten does not fit the mold of an average nurse or medical staff member. She transcends it. In a day and age where burnout rates in the medical community are staggeringly high, she puts the “compassionate aspect” above all else while still doing what is considered “routine.” Kersten is not average, and for that, I am grateful. For that, I feel like my treatment was even more effective and allowed me the chance to start my road to recovery…Thank you, Kersten.