Melissa is the one who always lifts everyone’s spirits when she is here. She looks for ways to make M’s day better; a cherry popsicle melted into slush that he enjoys, finding the right pillow to help hold his head in a more comfortable position, checking in on him when she is not the scheduled nurse, engaging him in conversation although he can only nod or shake his head and always being so upbeat that he smiles. She planned a 53rd-anniversary surprise for us with roses, balloons, a very special hand-made gift, and the perfect card which she had bought for M to give to me. All of this she did on her own time and had her husband and children help. M smiled most of the day which gave me such joy.

Melissa is also an extremely skilled nurse who listens to the problem and then solves it. I had asked the doctor to look at M’s redness all around his feeding tube which had been spreading for four days. She found the tube had popped out and immediately had M put on antibiotics and had surgery scheduled to replace the tube. Although she has a full schedule this week, Melissa came to work on Sunday to help out when another nurse did not come in for her shift. Her willingness to go above and beyond the expected is typical of Melissa and one of the reasons her co-workers respect her and like her so much. An extraordinary nurse is skilled, compassionate, respected by her peers, and loved by her patients. That is Melissa.