Due to a genetic abnormality, I have had innumerable hospital stays in my 50+ years of life, and Lauren is by far the best nurse with whom I have ever interacted.

Although the cardiac floor was full, Lauren always treated me as though I were the only patient receiving her care. She never even came close to making me feel like a burden. Instead, she served me with such a high level of professionalism and sincere compassion that I quickly began to trust her excellence and character. As the following examples indicate, my trust in Lauren.

Each time Lauren entered my room, she always found ways to help my frightening and painful hospital stay be the best it could be. For example, she saw how inflamed and painful one of my IV placements was and advocated for, and achieved, a better location, helping both my stress level and my ability to sleep.

For a second example, as she was efficiently taking care of whatever my medical need was, recording my statistics, administering medicine, etc., she noticed how I was arranging myself and my personal items in the bed and on the hospital tray table. Even though it took extra time, she thoughtfully rearranged and reattached my monitoring cords so they wouldn’t crisscross my body, letting me feel more comfortable and free. I would never have even thought of asking for this help, but Lauren anticipated my need and provided the exact care that would help me every day and night of my stay.

The only reason I made it through my four-hour nuclear imaging and chemical stress test was because Lauren trusted what the imaging tech told her. When she saw my pain and rising blood pressure, she quickly got a doctor’s order, found another RN to observe her leaving the cardiac floor, located me in the radiology area, and administered the medication through my IV.

Lauren’s kindness was evident as she was liked by every member of the medical team caring for me. Her influence made sure that, without exception, my well-being was always their top priority. Throughout my entire time in the hospital, Lauren made me feel like I was a beloved family member, even finding me a warm blanket in the nuclear imaging area.

As day after day progressed, I had less understanding of what was happening with my medical care. This was unacceptable to Lauren. She always advocated for me and took the time to review with me all test results and future treatment plans. Her clinical understanding was amazing. I even asked if she was simultaneously attending medical school while working as a nurse because her intellect and knowledge revealed that she clearly could have chosen to be a doctor. But her heart was to pour out her gifts as a nurse.

On the rare occasion that I asked a question that Lauren did not know the answer to, she contacted the physician and or researched until she could answer me. Lauren always provided up-to-the-minute information on my medical results and plans for my care. Her explanations were clear and thorough. She made difficult concepts easy to understand for me, a layperson. Because of Lauren’s compassionate care, Lauren guided her out of the frightening uncertainty and into a place of clarity and confidence.

Lauren anticipated my needs and provided protection and help even before I knew I needed it. As one small but important example, every day in the hospital, I remained waiting just in case a test or procedure might be ordered. There were times when the food service had already closed for the day, only minutes before I learned whether I would eat or even go home. With perfect precision based on how I felt, Lauren suggested that I order a bowl of Cheerios so that I could eat whenever I wanted to that evening. Thanks to Lauren’s care, I ordered and ate a bowl of Cheerios every single night I was in the hospital.

Due to my genetic syndrome, three times a day I take medication that is not commonly prescribed. To take my medication while in-patient, my husband had to bring the medication to Lauren so that she could provide it to the in-patient pharmacy for scanning. She then had to keep it locked in a special safe for patient medications as well as administer it to me three times a day. I know from personal experience that such an intensive extra medical need could have influenced nurses to be annoyed or impatient, but that was never true of Lauren. She brought me medication as though I were her best friend. She was cheerful, patient, and, as I hoped I described above, always looking out for my needs and comfort.

Lauren unfailingly treated my husband with the same level of patience and professional expertise that she treated me with. She offered to have the couch turned into a bed so that he could stay with me throughout the evenings. She answered every question that he had and explained where the extras were located on the floor so that he could best help to care for me. Lauren even provided everything he needed so that he could bathe me on the third day, which made my long hospital stay much more bearable.

And in a fun example of what a friendly, cheerful, and genuinely caring person she is, Lauren even stopped by my room on her day off just to excitedly tell us that she saw my husband’s photo and name on a community email. What a great human being Lauren is!

I could go on and on with more examples of Lauren’s excellence and care, but I will close by saying that, in summary, I cannot imagine one thing that Lauren could have done better to take care of my medical, emotional, and mental needs. She is an extraordinary and exemplary nurse.