...We tried so hard to convince the doctors that something was wrong, my father-in-law is normally a lively person, then we found a savior in one of your nurses. Penny Winnick assessed my grandfather, and thoroughly listened to his complaints of pain and my worries. Immediately after the assessment, this nurse discovered that he had a fever, his blood pressure was dropping and his disorientation warranted immediate action. This nurse started him on an IV drip to increase his blood pressure and heart rate and called his doctors to push for an order of a CAT scan of his stomach and head. If it weren't for this nurse's keen eye and open ears, my father-in-law would not be alive. With his medical history of stage 4 renal failure, brittle diabetes, and congestive heart failure, this infection of the gallbladder which was found could have killed him and Penny, the only person to have truly heard his complaints as well as mine, realized right away that something was out of the ordinary. Without Penny's initiative, I fear the infection would have gone unnoticed, instead the pain constantly being attributed to other ailments. Instead of disguising the problem with injections of morphine, Penny and a partner truly did a phenomenal job in nursing and caring for my father-in law. She laid out a plan involving interventional radiology, infectious disease, and surgery.

That night, another nurse followed my father-in-law's plan of care to pursue a plethora of doctors into ordering a drain for the infection knowing that my father-in-law was in no state to perform gallbladder surgery. Two of the doctors that night determined "unable to make a decision" as to whether he would benefit from a drain. Aware and concerned about my father-in-law's condition and critical infection, this nurse pursued an intensivist in order to make sure that the drain was placed that night.

Just because my father-in-law resides within a nursing home does not denote his standard of living as lesser to another of his age. He is a lively, bright, and active participant within my life as well as the lives of my children. Without the work and miracle of Penny Winnick, my father-in-law would not be alive and without the follow up from two other nurses his health would not be improving.

It is not just me and my family who feel as such. A visit from the infectious disease doctor confirmed our beliefs as he blatantly stated it was this nurse who acted as our guardian angel. After relaying his appreciation to be working with someone so brilliant, he said "Penny saved his life. It wasn't the work of the doctors, but for this nurse". And for this, we will be forever grateful.

We thank Penny for allowing my father-in-law an opportunity back into our lives. Although we cannot predict the amount of time in which he will stay with us, we know for a fact our time with him would have been cut short due to the shortcomings of the first providers assigned to his case. Without Penny, he would not be here, and my children wouldn't have an opportunity to see their grandfather healthy and vibrant again.