A patient was gardening in her yard and thought she pulled a muscle in her abdomen. She went to the ER a couple of days later due to persistent pain. The patient was triaged and after numerous tests it was determined that she had stage 4 breast cancer. The patient was admitted on the 5th Floor, Medical-Surgical and Tarsha was her nurse. The patient and family verbalized the fact that Tarsha was very gentle, kind and compassionate. The family asked that Tarsha be their loved one's nurse during her stay as she had bonded very well with them. Over the next few days the patient's diagnosis became more grave as it was now determined that she had metastatis involving her spine and brain. During the course of her hospitalization the patient was stoic and did not show much emotion and it wasn't until discharge that she was able to express how devastated she felt.

Shortly before leaving her room the patient became very emotional as she embrased Tarsha, became weak in the knees and fell into Tarsha's arms. Tarsha held her up in her arms as they embraced, hugged and cried together. The family thanked Tarsha for providing extraordinary care and the comfort they needed during a difficult hospitalization.