My husband was admitted to the 24th floor. 7 weeks after a stroke in the brain stem with locked-in syndrome. He was unable to communicate, had paralysis on his right side, and very little movement on his left. He was unable to eat/drink and had a g-tube. We came to Shirley Ryan from an LTACH out of state, where he had the worst experiences with the nurses. They wouldn't take the time to figure out what his needs were since he was unable to communicate and would just give him medication to sedate him.

We had Marcus as our nurse the second day we arrived at SRA and Marcus instantly connected with B. His calm demeanor instantly put my husband at ease and Marcus was extremely intuitive on what his needs were. He just understood my husband and just knew what he was trying to get at. This was a very special bond and such a relief for both of us. We had Marcus the most consistently out of all the nurses during our 2-month stay in inpatient and that was such a blessing.

From Marcus's Mario costume at Halloween, his sense of humor was exactly what my husband needed during such a difficult time. He showed the utmost respect for all his patients and their families and we couldn't have had a better nurse, especially with my husband's diagnosis of locked-in syndrome. To have a nurse that understands exactly what you need when you are unable to communicate is extremely rare. So blessed we were able to be in the care of such an outstanding nurse! We love Marcus!