At only 53 years old, my husband had an expansive ischemic stroke in his cerebellum and pons. We, of course, were shocked by what happened and never expected to land in the neuro ICU. We arrived when the day shift started, and right away, Libby was there, navigating us through the confusion of this new reality.

She sat with us while we cried. She engaged with us in a loving yet confidential way, which held my husband’s dignity intact. She treated him as a man who had goals and dreams for himself and his family, not just as a patient. She sat with my artist husband, who asked her to draw with him, reminding himself that he is still the same man he was in the days before the stroke.

When Libby had to go home, he would say, “Oh, sad I won’t see her until tomorrow”. In short, Libby is a healer, not because she can give meds and start a line, but because she is authentically kind and gentle and a healer in her heart.