...Shannon never let her guard down for a moment when it came time to care for our mother. Our mom suffered a small stroke while in her sleep. She was brought to the hospital and later that morning admitted to the 4th floor for further testing. Her admission from the beginning was a BLESSING for it was with this visit that the medical staff was able to find the seriousness of her condition, which is a condition that has gone unnoticed for quite some time. The second BLESSING was having Shannon O'Connor as her nurse for the two and half days she was here. I have had the opportunity to work with Shannon in the past, on days that she would come and help out in the OB department, and it was here where I was able to witness at first hand the quality care and professionalism she possesses as a nurse.

My mother throughout her stay was very scared due to her test not having great results; it was becoming harder for her to swallow what she was being told. In one of those days that I came in during my break, my mother broke down in fear and cried over the results she was receiving, between me and my brother and two aunts, we didn't know what other language to use in trying to convince her that everything was going to be okay, but as fate would have it later on that day, we walked in to our mother's room to find Shannon sitting next to her and reassuring her that everything would be okay, without either one of them realizing it, we walked out so that Shannon could have her time with our mom to do what she did BEST and that was to be a NURSE.

As we walked in shortly afterwards, my mother's demeanor had taken a turn for the BEST, she was no longer in fear of what was to come and no longer crying or breaking down every time someone would walk into her room. We were amazed at how much she had changed emotionally, because just earlier that morning she was so sure that she would not be walking out of Homestead Hospital. My family at that given moment knew that whatever it was that Shannon had spoken to her about had a lot to do with our mother's change of attitude towards her recovery. Our mother for the rest of the evening and the next day before her transfer to Mount Sinai took place, hung on to that promise that Shannon shared with her.

While at Mount Sinai, my mother to our surprise ended up in ICU for five days, after a simple procedure that was performed on her took an unexpected turn. We panicked and found ourselves riddled with the same fear that our mother had while at Homestead Hospital and couldn't understand why this was happening to her or us; we were not ready or prepared for any of the untimely events that were taking place. While we all sat in the ICU waiting area, we told ourselves that our mother would be fine, because while in PRE-OP and getting ready for her procedure all she would say is Shannon this and Shannon that, she reminded us that Shannon promised her that everything would be okay and that she had so much FAITH in her that she knew there was no doubting her outcome. And once again as FAITH would have it and eight days later we were able to bring our mom home.

We will always remain GRATEFUL to Shannon for her GRATITUDE and WILLINGNESS to help get our mom and as well the rest of the family thru this unexpected event. Shannon till this day in our home is a household name, at times I look back and smile when I think of an episode of the BRADY BUNCH SHOW, where the younger sibling Jan is jealous of her sister Marsha because of her being perfect at everything she does and she then runs around the house saying MARSHA, MARSHA, MARHSA, but in our case all we hear is SHANNON, SHANNON, SHANNON. You will always have a SPECIAL PLACE in our hearts and for this we are very THANKFUL for you Shannon.