Our 21-year-old son lives and works in Fayetteville. We (Mom and Dad) live in Florida. He experienced a V-Fib event. Ryley was the first medical person we spoke to after receiving word of our son's hospitalization. She was incredibly thoughtful in the way she chose her words when we spoke to her that first time that night. She provided as many details as she could without causing us to go into panic mode.

We flew to Fayetteville the next morning and arrived at the hospital around noon that day. Seeing our son lying in that bed in the CV ICU was the hardest thing I think I've ever experienced. She knew that we were on our way when we spoke to her the night before. She came in early for her shift, and as soon as we met her face to face, we knew our son was in the right place. She cared for him like he was her own little brother. Lovingly speaking to him and taking the extra mile to make sure he was comfortable and that he got every element of his care right on time, every time.

During his stay in the ICU, Ryley was his nurse for 6 straight nights. She was the most stable and consistent element in his care, especially during the night, when the ICU can become a very scary place for a young man who is completely confused about where he is or what has happened to him. We truly believe that she made an incredible difference in the speed at which our son recovered. She was never hopeless. She was his champion... cheering him on as every little sign of progress was made. But even more importantly than that, she cared for us. She made sure his Mama knew everything she needed to know in order to make it to the next day. Even though we only saw her from 7 pm to 7 am each day, we were 100% confident that our precious son was in the best hands possible.

Our son walked out of the hospital under his own power. Fully awake and aware. We will never be able to repay her for all she did for our family. Washington Regional is blessed to have her on its team. And we are blessed as well.