The shift nurse leader on the third floor, Contia, was phenomenal. She kept checking on me and talking to me while also explaining what was happening and what I could expect.
She treated me with total kindness and gentleness while also doing something so important with patient care: She listened to me and valued what I said. I kept thanking her, but she looked at me and said she didn't feel like she had done anything extraordinary, that it was just a part of her job. While she may not have thought she did anything differently or unusually, she made a huge difference to me.
Over the course of the next few days, I cried more than once at how kind, gentle, and responsive she was and how committed she was to help me on the road to recovery.
I don't think I have ever truly felt as cared for, respected, valued and safe in a hospital. What she may quickly call "part of her job" can literally be transformative in the lives of patients. I think these are some of the core qualities of truly amazing nurses who help patients every day and probably don't get thanked enough.