My interactions with Mona occurred during mid-April of 2021. I have meant to submit this for months but haven't had the opportunity to, and I haven't forgotten about it through all this time because of how much it meant to me. I am a postgraduate student who lives 5 hours from my family in the middle of a semester and this was my first hospitalization.

I got a bed at 2300 and Mona was on nights and the first nurse I met. When everything calmed down and quieted, I couldn't hold it together. I have no family here and was terrified. Mona immediately knelt down and hugged me. She reassured me and was telling me that she has kids at home and how much it ached to know that I wanted my mom. She got me an extra pillow to hold, and she offered to chart in my room while I fell asleep, so I wasn't alone. I had her for the second night too.

That night, I had multiple spells of vomiting in which I began to cry, and my nose bled. An absolute mess. Mona held my hair out of my face and just stroked my hair as if I was her own family. I was sad to learn she was off the next night. On my third day, I was talking to the nursing staff about her and while I was talking, she came into my room. I was confused because she wasn't supposed to be my nurse that night, but she was worried about me and didn't want me to feel alone. She brought me flowers and a small stuffed unicorn with a get-well-soon card. She came up to the hospital just to give me something to know that she was thinking of me.

She was the most compassionate and attentive nurse I have ever met. She made me feel so cared for instead of in a sterile medical setting. The extra things that she did to provide comfort and the extra time she took were above and beyond the duties of a nurse. The unicorn sits on my dresser, and it reminds me how much that a stranger cared for me. It's been 6 months and still remember what she has done.