My husband C, 35, battled leukemia for 2.5 years. He left me and his daughter of three years behind. On the day of his passing Tara was his nurse, without her, I would have had less time with him that day. She could see how stubborn my husband was to be here, and how much of a fighter he was. She fought for him and us. She made him comfortable, made him laugh, and even once again made him say, "That's my wife" one more time. My husband’s heart and lungs were going, he was on CPAP, and he needed a lot of other medications to help his BP level. I distinctly remember, before going to ICU, hearing his machine beep. I was talking in his ear, and I heard Tara next to me giving him a lot of medicines for his BP. I want to mention that she called for extra in advance, had the pharmacy make him a special mix. But I heard her giving it to him. She finished and looked at me and said, "I cannot give him anymore, he's maxed out." She then pushed to get him to ICU and refused to leave until he got settled and then stayed with us in the ICU. She cried with us. She took care of us. She loved us. I have met so many nurses and doctors throughout the 2.5 years. She is special. What I said isn't enough. She was helping me get blood that they had from UCSD for him here, actually platelets that had to be HLA matched. Once we found out it could take a day, she called Red Cross to see how long it would take to get here. Thank you! Thank you for giving C the chance to say goodbye to his family and me. Thank you for making me smile on my worst day. Thank you for recognizing that I knew what I was talking about. PS I still need that coffee. I will never forget you. I will strive to be like you when I begin my nursing journey. Thank you for being part of my inspiration.