My aunt was in a horrific accident, getting hit head-on by a drunk driver. My grandma didn’t make it, and we also lost my date to ALS 9 months ago. We were terrified we’d lose my aunt too. The hospital as a whole did beyond-amazing work to help her. She should have a full recovery, but she has a long road ahead of her to gain her independence back and get her walking again.

One nurse stood out above all of the others, Tara. UW Health is lucky to have her. She is an absolute asset to your team. Not only is she kind and empathetic, but she is also highly skilled, intelligent, and on top of everything to ensure the best care possible. She went above and beyond to help us. My aunt is deaf, and her hearing aids were lost in the hospital. She also lost her glasses in the crash. My husband and I jumped through a thousand hoops to get her hearing aids and glasses so she could be involved in her care and communicate effectively.

One hoop was to physically take her down to the audiologist’s office. Once we got down there, her cart did not fit through the door to get the tests done in order to order her hearing aids. I called Tara from downstairs, asking if there was any way she could bring a smaller cart down to transfer her to so we could get this taken care of. It was shift change, and she came down immediately to make it happen. Think how terrifying my aunt’s situation was, in addition to not being able to hear or see. This was a huge deal for my aunt and our family. Our family all lives far away and was hard to FaceTime or anything due to the barrier. Tara’s efforts did not go unnoticed. All of us appreciate her more than we could ever tell her. It is obvious that she loves what she does, and this is beautiful!