My mom came in for an ulcer perforation. She lost almost all her blood volume and was very sick. She had emergent surgery and was rushed to the SICU for recovery. Shonna was her nurse that day. She not only helped my mom recover, but she made me feel comfortable and hopeful throughout the stay. For example, my mom’s urine was as little as 3cc’s and Shonna made me feel hopeful by saying “that’s better than no urine.” It might sound silly, but honestly those were words of comfort for me and my family. She was so caring and thoughtful not only towards my mom but also my family. She always kept us informed and updated. She sat with us and went over my mom’s past medical history and was able to find out that she was never diagnosed with chronic kidney disease stage 3. When I say she goes all out, she REALLY goes all out. Because my mom lost all her blood volume, her kidneys were shot. Shonna irrigated my mom’s foley, bladder scanned her a couple of times, and when it was time to collect urine, she put my mom in reverse trendelenburg position to see how much urine she could collect….like what kind of nurse does that?! Honestly, she cared so much for my mom. Because my mom does not speak English, she advocated for us by asking her manager if we could stay overnight, unfortunately, we couldn’t, but just the fact that she offered, meant so much to me. Most nurses rather not have family at the bedside so they can do what they have to do, chart, then relax. My mom ended up pulling out her NGT that night, unfortunately, hahaha. Obviously, Shonna has good judgment. Overall, I honestly respect nurses like Shonna so damn much. I am an ICU nurse myself, but Shonna’s care went above and beyond my expectations. She inspires me to become a better ICU nurse. I will never forget her kindness and dedicated work. Because of her, my mom recovered faster. I was so afraid that I wouldn’t even be able to hear my mom’s voice again. I am so appreciative of all the nurses in the SICU, but especially Shonna. 

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I’ve never seen a nurse work as hard as Shonny. My mom came to the hospital very sick and Shonny has done her best caring for my mom. My mom was very sick, she had an ulcer perforation and lost all her blood volume. She then lost kidney function and Shonny tried everything she can think of to help my mom's kidney function return. She bladder scanned her, she irrigated the foley, etc. I really appreciated it because not all nurses would do that. Shonny definitely goes above and beyond and most importantly, I am sure that I am leaving my mom in the best of care. She really advocates for my mom and for my family during this difficult time. Not only is she the best nurse I’ve ever encountered, but she is a great detective. She takes time to investigate her patients and sits with the family to understand my mom's past medical history, and by doing that she discovered that my mom was never diagnosed with chronic kidney disease stage 3, because I certainly didn’t know that, and thus it was a mistake that she helped find. Words cannot thank Shonny enough. I will definitely recommend all my loved and cherished ones to the SICU just for Shonny. She is a nurse that truly cares and definitely goes above and beyond for her patients.

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My fiancé Z was admitted to the SICU after an abdominal surgery. He was extremely sick, and unfortunately as a result he had to be intubated. Worst…nightmare…ever. Doctors told his mother and me that there was a very high chance he would not survive the weekend. They also told us that because he was so heavily medicated already if something had occurred, there was nothing left that they could do to save him. My fiancé was in the SICU for 15 days. 15 long, excruciating days. During his stay, Shonna was his nurse for 5 or 6 of those days. The days she was involved, were my happiest. She is truly an angel. The first day I met her, she offered to play him music and sing to him- anything to make him regain consciousness. She always reassured us, and never let us feel doubt (even on the days we had bad news). Assured his mother that she would care for him like he was her own. ONE WEEK after his surgery, Shonna had my fiancé off the ventilator. She was very dedicated to bringing our Z back to us. Because of her hard work, after 7 long days, my fiancé was able to look me in the eyes and tell me that he loves me. She went above and beyond to make sure that he was always comfortable, and always had what he needed (even on a day that he was not assigned to her), and she was SO comforting to his mother and me. Z is a fighter, but it was so heartwarming to watch a nurse have the same fight for him that we all had. I truly believe he would not have been discharged when he was if it wasn’t for the things Shonna did for him. And I don’t think, emotionally, we would have made it through that time without her. A true god sent, and I could never thank her enough for what she did for us all.