I have been in many hospitals in my life due to some chronic health problems. I have also had many surgeries, including one last year during which my heart stopped. I was down here visiting the Outer Banks from New York. This was my first trip down here and I was enjoying celebrating the end of my cancer treatments. I started feeling bad on Wednesday night but told my wife that I thought I was overdoing it so I went to bed. I am told I woke up around 3 am on Thursday and my wife immediately called 911.

I was brought to the hospital and then transferred here. I don’t remember much about that night but I do remember the next morning being told that I was going to have surgery and being scared that I wasn’t going to make it. I remember Becky coming to my room and telling me that she was going to take me to get ready for surgery; she was a calming presence and very calmly and confidently did everything to get me ready for surgery. She smiled every step of the way through prep even though she had to work hard to get me ready including a lot of lab work and medications. She spoke to me like I was an old friend and I shared with her my fear of going to surgery and not coming out. Without missing a beat she said, "You have some amazing people waiting for you in surgery."

Becky was like the guardian angel that I didn’t even know I needed. She also took the time to talk to my wife and reassure her. This meant the world to both of us. She stopped by to check on me after my surgery and said that she was glad to see me on this side of it. My wife and I will never forget this truly incredible experience with Becky. The bad news about this whole thing is that my nurses in New York are going to have to raise their level of care standards to even come close to Becky.