Mary Kamps-Huberts, RN

I was in intense pain that exceeded any pain I’d encountered with kidney stones or labor with my two daughters. Then I received the news from the ED physician that it was not kidney stones, as I had believed it was for two weeks. It was likely lymphoma. It felt like the bottom dropped out. I called my husband with shaky hands and then wept, but my nurse was there. She empathically sat with me, helped me walk through the news, showed compassion for me as a mother, listened to the stories of my 6- and 9-year-old daughters, and shared snippets of her motherhood and clinical experiences in a way that gave me hope, confidence that I can and will fight this, and grace for myself. She held my hand and gave me a huge gift of compassion at one of the scariest times in my medical history, and for that, I will forever be grateful.