My boyfriend right now is in the ICU at the main campus. He had surgery that was scheduled (he was having his urostomy moved from one side of his body to the other) and of course, expected everything to go well, but he's a quadriplegic, so nothing ever goes as planned. He ended up on the G90 floor but was only there for a night because his kidneys started filling up with fluids and they had to do surgery again to drain them. When he got back to the floor, he felt nauseous and threw up a little, which then made him aspirate. Which then turned into pneumonia. Sent him to the ICU. He was doing well and they thought he was okay to be moved to the reg floor again, so he was brought back to the G90 floor and Liliana was his nurse.

She was very sweet and incredibly attentive to his needs. Him being a quadriplegic of course comes with a number of challenges, and I always worry when I leave him in hospitals. He was exhausted from not sleeping in the ICU and needed medication to help him sleep. Which was another reason they wanted to get him out of the ICU, so he could get some rest. She was with him until 7:30 pm that night and made sure he got some sleep. She was with him the next morning and I found out later when she told me that she just didn't feel right about him. And had someone sit with him.

The next morning when I walked in I saw her and another woman standing over him looking concerned. She had said she was just talking to him but he became unresponsive. We both started yelling his name and she tried to wake him. They called a code and immediately a dozen people piled into the room. I watched as people started working on my boyfriend and one started doing chest compressions. A second nurse had come up beside me and asked if I wanted to leave the room, I had kind of jumped on top of the ledge of the window to get out of everyone's way and just started crying and praying. Told her I didn't want to leave. She just stood there with her hand on my back the entire time rubbing my back, handing me Kleenex, and asking me if I was okay and if I wanted to leave. It seemed like it took forever. I then saw Liliana jump up and start doing chest compressions. I apologize that there were several nurses that did chest compressions and of course, more that were taking blood pressures, and plugging in wires, and taking notes, and all these other things, but all I remember is Liliana and the second nurse.

My boyfriend went into cardiac arrest 3 times in front of me that morning and with the help of everyone there, he was saved and moved to ICU. It was a very grave day where we thought he wasn't going to make it. But he pulled through. He is still sick and in the ICU, but I want to be sure to recognize these two nurses.

After my boyfriend was semi-stable, I went back upstairs to talk to Liliana and when she came around the corner she immediately ran into me and gave me the biggest hug. She then told me what had happened before he coded and I told her that I wanted to thank her for saving his life. I told her that I was amazed to see her doing chest compressions on him and how hard that must be to go through as a nurse, as it was just horrible to see as a family member. But as My boyfriend's primary caregiver for the past 15 years, I also understand the caregiver role. I also told her that if my boyfriend passed away today, I knew that everyone that day did everything they could. I saw it with my own two eyes. It was the absolute worst day of my life. But they saved his life. Liliana knew something wasn't right. She was attentive and on top of it. What had happened was he had mucus plug his throat and cut off his oxygen which stopped his heart. If Liliana hadn't been there, he wouldn't be here. So, I would like some sort of recognition to Liliana who saved my boyfriend's life, and to the second nurse, Amy, who stayed with me to make sure I was all right. They are both heroes to me.