Yesterday I had a very good follow-up appointment at the Heart & Vascular Center. This was the culmination of a journey that started during my stay in the 5th Floor Heart Failure Unit in January. I am a long term Heart Failure patient (21 years) and had been seen at the Middletown ER three times in Dec/January. I was finally transferred to the Heart Failure Unit at the Main Hospital for fluid/volume overload. Ms. Mathias was my nurse during most of that stay. She provided excellent medical care, taking the time to fully understand my condition, and make adjustments in my treatment regimen that were very helpful. She was skilled in her care, and had a very warm and helpful demeanor. She encouraged me to make good use of my time there, to learn more about my condition, and engage in follow-up care that has been very successful in keeping me out of the hospital since then. Although I have had heart issues for a long time, she encouraged me to reassess how I was handling them, and made certain I knew what I needed to do when discharged. She also made it a point to "check up on me" at the beginning and end of each shift, in addition to her routine care. She is a bright, capable, skilled, young woman with a wonderfully caring way about her, and a great personality. I am certain she is a valuable asset to the hospital team, and she made my stay both pleasant and curative, at a time when I was very much at a physical and emotional low-point. I am indebted to her for her excellent care.