I was scheduled for surgery to remove a small mass. At the start of the pre-op prep, Ramon Beiler introduced himself and his voice was the primary one I heard throughout the prep. It was always kind, steady, and knowledgeable. Getting an IV into me has always been difficult, sometimes more and sometimes less difficult. That morning was one of the “sometimes more” times, despite my having faithfully drunk 96 oz of water the previous day. And I confess, I was also scared. So, the other pre-op nurse there couldn’t find a vein to use. Some sort of “special unit” was then called in. But because they did not start work until later, some waiting occurred. During this time, Ramon was keeping an eye on the proceedings and kindly explaining what was happening. Once the special unit appeared, there were many more attempts to find a vein. At some point, I remember needing a hand to hold onto. All I did was put my hand out, and Ramon kindly took it. He did not raise a peep at what I suspect was my not-very-gentle squeezing during the several more attempts at vein finding. I asked at one point if I was squeezing too hard and, regardless of the true answer, he said no, he was just fine. He was just so very kind and calming the whole time. When it started to become apparent that the “start time” of the surgery was near, and still no IV was yet in, my understanding of the events was that it was Ramon who first suggested that maybe I needed to be given something to just make me happy and relaxed, so that it might be easier to get an IV in. I think that was the gist of what he said, as his suggestion included several acronyms that I didn’t know. It seemed to me that the other staff members really listened to him (not just ignoring words from a nurse, as does sometimes happen). At some point here, the anesthesiologist had also arrived. Consensus was to give up on my right arm as the source for the IV. The anesthesiologist started searching for a vein in my left hand and was, I believe, successful. Moments thereafter, some sort of “knock out” juice was probably administered because I have no recollection of any of the insertion of the neural block that was put in. In fact, I don’t remember anything past that point until I woke up after surgery. Anyway, I am just so deeply grateful for Ramon’s sharing of both skill and kindness to help me through a very stressful, scary time. I am very glad he was working so early that morning.