I arrived at Legacy Emanuel early in the morning after being hit and run over by an SUV. My injuries at the time, as I understand it, were critical but not life-threatening and consisted of 7 broken ribs (3 in multiple places) and a punctured/collapsing lung. I arrived in the ER where they inserted a chest tube and performed lots of other care, that honestly, I have no memory of. My first conscious memory in the TRACU was of Chris looking over at me and saying "We're gonna take really good care of you, bud, you just hang in there!" Taking really good care of someone or something is certainly a relative term. People can be good at taking care of a child's cough or maybe taking care of their vegetable garden, but taking really good care of someone with my level of injuries is something totally different. In my personal experience, I have never had a nurse who was that professional, that calm, that attentive, that caring in a critical situation as Chris was for me in those early hours. Despite having no real information about what was happening to me, something in me knew that I was going to be ok because Chris said I would be.
For the next three days and until he came back after my Saturday surgery, Chris has been my rock. Your hospital has lots of amazing staff, who have helped me tremendously, but in the 9+ days that I have been here when I see Chris walk through my door, I still know that I'm going to be ok. To cut to the chase, I wouldn't be alive today without Chris. Sure, I have had surgeons, PAs, and CNAs, etc. all working around the clock on my care - and there are no words for how grateful I am for every one of them, but Chris' focus on my care, helping me see the light at the end of the tunnel, and keeping my spirits raised (in addition of course to all of the technical things he does as part of his duties) allowed me to do everything I needed to recover. He was a God Send and I will thank God every day for the rest of my life for having Chris as one of my nurses this week!