My dad was admitted to the hospital in January, and Maria was one of the first to care for him. My dad had a recurrence of cancer from 20 years ago, and we were told no treatment options. I was alone in the hospital room with dad when the doctors delivered the news that his cancer returned, and I immediately broke down crying. Maria hugged me and was so comforting in that terrible moment. I will never forget the compassionate care she provided.

While Maria was only our nurse for one day, she made such a difference. Every time she walked in the room with a smile on her face, she never left without asking what she could do to help us. My dad is a rather difficult patient and was having a hard time swallowing his meds, so she tried numerous different methods to make his medication administration easier and managed to have us all laughing in the process. Maria is a gem of a human and nurse, and I hope she knows what a difference her one day of caring for us made in my dad's end-of-life journey.