Stacy is the reason a particular patient's outcome turned from hopeless to hopeful.

A woman with head and neck cancer underwent ablative surgery that made a tracheostomy necessary. The change in the patient's daily life coupled with the aggressiveness of the cancer created overwhelming fear and an uncertain future, and the patient became withdrawn.

She began to decline the recommended radiation therapy, and she would not tell the physicians or nurses why. She would not use her tracheostomy speaking valve, and she would not communicate by writing. She made a few attempts at communicating through gestures, and then she stopped trying entirely.

And then Stacy was assigned to be the patient's bedside nurse. She consistently communicated respectfully. She projected patience. She exuded empathy. She was able to read the patient's subtlest of facial expressions to correctly identify the patient's emotions, hopes and worries.

She began to recognize what the patient wanted at any given moment. Truly, it was like this nurse could read the patient's mind. The two developed a special rapport that no other health care team member had been able to accomplish. Because the patient did so much better with her around, Stacy continued to be assigned—and to seek assignment—as the patient's primary nurse.

It was because of Stacy that, after weeks of the treatment team's unsuccessful attempts to deliver therapy to reduce risk of cancer recurrence and spread, the patient told her how isolated and small and alone she felt while receiving radiotherapy.

And it was because of Stacy that the treatment team could find a solution the patient found agreeable and ultimately used to complete treatment and help the patient move forward despite uncertainty.