I feel like this story has taken awhile for me to write down because it is so hard to put into words. My younger brother fell down a flight of stairs and experienced a traumatic brain injury. My brother was only 28 years old at the time so this was very devastating and emotional for me and my entire family. He was intubated and in a coma for about 2 weeks. During this time he also suffered from ARDS aspiration pneumonia. He was on full ventilatory support for a couple days while his lungs healed and he received IV antibiotics. Matt was my brother's nurse the day after his emergency bronchoscopy, where they pulled a ton of secretions out of his lungs. Matt was so good at communicating with me and my family everything that was going on and what to expect next. Matt went above and beyond all our expectations. He moved my brother to a bigger room, updated us on all lab work and imaging. He made sure that my brother stayed comfortable while intubated. He even washed his hair one day, which isn't an easy task when the patient is intubated and has multiple IVs. Matt even picked up extra days to work and was my brother's nurse those days. It felt like he was part of our family.

The day my brother was extubated was one of the most traumatic days of my life. The doctors warned us that he would most likely be confused and agitated. What an understatement! The first day all he did was moan and sweat profusely. It was terrifying. There were many days I worried if I would ever get my brother back. Matt was there all day to reassure us that it would get better and that it was very normal for TBI patients to wake up like this. Sure enough my brother got a little bit better every day.

After extubation, Matt even washed his hair a second time! My brother was moved to the step-down unit a couple of days after extubation, where he continued to improve. Matt would come over to visit us on his breaks and check in on my brother. Once my brother started walking around, he would walk through the ICU to visit our favorite nurse. My brother was eventually discharged to RUSK for inpatient rehabilitation and was discharged home to his apartment after 12 days. I am happy to report that my brother is doing great! He still has some work to do to get back to 100%, but he will get there.

I come up to NYC to check on my brother frequently and every time I pass NYP I think of all the amazing nurses and doctors that helped save my brother's life. All of the nurses, respiratory therapists, and doctors were wonderful, however, Matt touched our family's heart in a very special way. We still think about him often and continue to talk about how much we loved our nurse, Matt. My brother doesn't remember much about being at NYP due to his head injury, but I know he would feel the same way.