When I was diagnosed with cancer my whole life went into a downhill spin. It took many months of convincing from my family to go ahead and have the surgery my doctor had recommended. The truth is I know that there is no way around it but to have surgery, but I was simply very scared. I have this fear in me that I will be in a lot of pain and will not recover from the surgery. The nurses who took care of me from ICU to 1East had proven me wrong. The nursing staffs were all very caring, gentle, and kind. The nurse who stood out the most for me was Tom. He is a big burly man but a true teddy bear in the inside. I must be very lucky because I had Tom almost every day as my nurse. The first time I had to get up and walk, Tom was there to help me. He was so reassuring that all my fear of pain was wiped out in an instant. Tom was so knowledgeable about my care. The nurses are all great, but Tom was the only one who would sit down and explain to me in detail the plan, my medications, and everything else that I have questioned on. He has a way to help me understand the different regimen I had to do for the day. I hung on to our "plan for the day" and he made it a point to cheer me on when I had to walk, use my breathing exerciser, eat my meals, and even just to get up from the bed to the chair. I have to say that without Tom being my cheer leader I would not have made it to recovery. I appreciate his excellent care and the difference he made in my stay there.