I had a stroke; the ambulance took me to the Meriter Hospital. I can't exactly tell you what happened there, but they had to take me to the UW Hospital, of course at that moment they didn't know it was a stroke.
Once in UW Hospital, Dr. A took excellent care of me, he saved my life with God's help. During the first days being in the ICU, all the nurses were so diligent and kind and of course very professional. I remember specifically 2 of them and particularly one, this remarkable nurse I'll never forget, she made a huge impact in my life. I still deal with a lot of things I can't remember but I perfectly remember Elizabeth's face and her voice. Sometimes I wasn't able to remember her name, nor a lot of other important things I'd like to remember, I do remember the sweet and soft voice she has, she perfectly understood how to help me heal by being compassionate and empathetic; she made the difference while I was there for two weeks. She didn't know but I felt so safe and cared thanks to her; I could tell she was always working with her heart.
I remember Elizabeth has these beautiful blue eyes and even now when I remember her voice, that memory still heals me, my recovery's been a long process and I would love to thank her for the compassionate care she gave me, it meant a lot to me; for that reason I'll never forget her face nor her voice.
For more than a year I was wondering how to find her, at least know her name, I forgot a lot of things. My intention was to nominate her for this award, but I wasn't able to remember her name. Today, a few hours ago, I was with my daughter and son in Target when I saw her, I immediately knew! It was her! She was walking just the way she used to do, so peaceful. I went after her and asked her if she was a nurse at the UW Hospital; I just didn't want to get her scared so I told her she was my nurse when I had the stroke and I didn't know how to find her and a lot of things I can't even remember now but I know I said what she did meant a lot for me, so, finally I asked and wrote her name so I can do this.
Can you imagine how she impacted my life that I clearly remember her? I told her I'll never forget her, and I won't; she was part of that amazing team who saved my life and thanks to that I'm living, walking, working, and with my beloved family. Thank you, Elizabeth Kalua, you were an angel to me here; I didn't have to go anywhere else to find an angel, you were just there.