I came into the ER with extreme pain and infection with a perforated colon. The surgeons wanted to see if they could get the infection down before operating. I was out in the ICU with Yuriy as my nurse. This was my first time ever in a hospital so Yuriy was a great nurse to have in those circumstances. He watched over me carefully, explained every single thing they were doing and giving me, and distracted me from the pain with stories of his growing up in Ukraine.

It was pouring rain that night and water started dripping into the room from the construction so Yuriy found the crew to stop the leak and clean the water. I was in the hospital for almost a month after that night and was moved to 1 North. Any and every time that Yuriy was on, he stopped by my room to say hello and give me some encouraging words. He would also see my husband walking about and speak to him as well. I have just been readmitted for take-down surgery and Yuriy ran into my husband in the car lot and asked what room I was in. Yuriy's ability to keep me calm in a very stressful situation and his explanations of all the drugs and procedures was wonderful. More wonderful was that he cared enough to drop in every day to see me. He made my experience here very memorable.