My parents were visiting family in Ohio when tragedy struck. My mom and aunt were hit by a car that was part of a high-speed chase. My aunt didn't make it, and my mom was fighting for her life in the ICU. As soon as we got the call, my siblings and I hopped in the car and drove 5 hours to be with her and my dad in Ohio.

 I am a nurse, and I had to advocate for her care when things were missed or neglected, and many times, I had to be the nurse or nurse assistant for her. I was hardly able to leave her bedside for two weeks because we were so scared. Once we got the call that she was accepted to Shirley Ryan, things started to look up. She was stable for transfer, and we were all ready to come home. Upon arrival, the nurse manager let us know that she was in good hands and that I didn't have to be her nurse anymore; I could just be her daughter. It was such a relief to hear those words, but I knew my mother was still bedbound and was going to need a lot of care.

Tyran was the first nurse she had, and she was an incredible blessing to my mom and to our family. She was so calm, kind, compassionate, and, I could tell, an excellent nurse. She was thorough and vigilant and caught what could have been a bad wound infection early on. She continued to advocate for my mom throughout her admission.

For example, when she knew she wasn't able to start her IV, she got someone to assist her. To me, great nursing is equal parts skill and judgement. Tyran gave my mom encouragement and dignity when she had never been more weak or confused in her life. She was a great communicator and collaborator with me and our family. She was happy to give us updates when we weren't with her. We truly felt like, for the first time since her accident, our mom was being taken care of. I was able to be at home with my kids, and I had peace of mind that she was in safe hands. There's nothing that can replace that feeling of safety after going through everything we had gone through in Ohio. And now it's been almost a year since her accident, yet I still wanted to give credit to Tyran and the other staff at Shirley Ryan.

We thank you for all of your help during that truly difficult time. My mom is walking independently now. She is back at work. She's back to babysitting. She has been working hard every day, trying to get back to being herself, and we are so grateful for all of the care and therapy she received that helped her get here today.