Mattie was my first nurse when I arrived the day before a colonoscopy and I did the prep with a commode and a very weak body from end-stage Alpha1 emphysema. Mattie was there for me all night changing the commode and cleaning me through all my pain, being compassionate through all my tears even though I rang my bell every few minutes at times. I was diagnosed after that with stage 4 metastatic anal cancer (explained the agony) and lung cancer.

I wound up staying there for nearly a month and a half and Mattie would stop by to say, "Hi," or see if I needed anything every day even if she wasn’t assigned to me. She would change my commode, take my food tray, and get me tea even if she wasn’t my nurse that day. She wouldn’t even hesitate to help me wash up and put on fresh clothes. This young nurse goes above and beyond her duties and was always cheerful, sympathetic, and good-natured no matter what. She made a huge difference in my life as I sat there unable to care for myself in pain and all alone facing an uncertain future. She is the best nurse I've ever had in my life and she made me smile and feel normal, like I truly was important and meant something.