Compassion can be lost when a hospital is at capacity and patients arrive in unending waves. Empathy can be scarce when patients are reduced to vital statistics and life hangs in the balance. Advocacy can be forsaken when patients are alone and intimidated by medical procedures they do not understand. But in these challenging times, there are still people who rise above the hardships of exhaustion, who dig deep to find compassion and empathy and give a voice to patients who cannot breathe.

Karen Mellers is one such individual. She worked tirelessly for my nephew, when he arrived at the hospital with COVID, alone and afraid. Karen was our guide, our advocate, and our peace of mind during a time we were powerless to help him. Karen has all the qualities you would want in a nurse: the skills, the resilience, and the professionalism. But she brings so much more to the job. The depths of her commitment to helping patients are unfathomable. She always has more to give and never stops working. I wanted to convey to you how important Karen is to patients, to the hospital, and to the nursing profession. Our gratitude for her help cannot be articulated adequately and we will be forever grateful that she was there for my nephew in one of our darkest hours.