We recently had a patient on our unit after undergoing double valve heart surgery. He was extremely unstable and all the nurses worked diligently to keep him alive. Of all the nurses, Linda stood out as she went above and beyond. As the charge nurse on the night shift, she made it a point to get to know the family, be available for questions, and help ease their mind as tensions and emotions ran high.

When it was time for the end of life discussion, Linda was right there to talk with the family and comfort the wife. His wife had explained to Linda how they had talked prior to surgery and how he did not want to be hooked to machines to be kept alive. Linda's response was "wasn't that nice that he made that decision for you so that you don't have to". That made the wife and family feel so much better about stopping treatment.

Linda will forever be remembered by that family for being compassionate, empathetic and holistic in one of the most difficult periods of their lives. She would say she was just doing her job, but she has such a natural, gentle spirit about her that helped the patient's family be more at peace with the situation and the staff to remain calm and focused.