There are so many firsts that I experienced with Corina DeVries. I’ve spent quite a lot of time in the hospital. My mother was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma and at age 87, had the Whipple surgery in 2020. Due to some complications, I stayed in the hospital with her for almost a month. This time, my 93-year-old father came to Howard General via a 911 call. His main issue was a huge stone in his gallbladder which he was too high risk for removal due to his heart condition.

While in the hospital, it’s been a steady decline in his health and I’ve been at his bedside pretty much every single night. During this time, I have met many, many kind, hard-working, and patient nurses, doctors, CRNP, technicians, and cleaning staff. Nurse Corina Devries came into our lives on our 10th day at Howard General. Of everyone I met, Corina stands out because she was the first and only nurse to do the below.

1. Ask me if I had everything I need to comfortably spend the night.

2. Showed me how to use the patient portal and help me be a better and more informed advocate for my father.

3. Was a thoughtful, experienced, and comforting ear during my rough times.

4. Tole me that I could order a guest tray of food for myself.

5. Proactively ordered breathing treatment for my father when he was wheezing.

6. Proactively changed his wet/seeping dressing and sheets several times a day.

7. Turned the monitor away towards the wall at night so the room was dark and more pleasant to sleep in.

8. Coordinated with tech to determine if my dad needed to be woken for vitals in the middle of the night if it wasn’t necessary.

9. Pre-set up his IV before bed so disturbance was minimized during sleep.

10. Came in quietly with a flashlight to check on my dad rather than turning the bright lights on and waking him up (Ninja Corina!)

11. Corina is the only nurse I’ve ever seen that sanitized her hands BEFORE putting her gloves on!

12. Every time she sees me, she asks if I need fresh water.

Overall, it was so obvious that she is thoughtful, considerate, knowledgeable, experienced and so incredibly caring. Always being proactive and going above and beyond seems so natural coming from her. Seeing the way she helped and cared for not only my dad but myself as well is so appreciated during this incredibly difficult time in our lives. Her calm and caring energy was healing in so many different ways. I can’t say thank you or express my gratitude enough to her. Howard General and all her patients are very blessed to have her. I wish all experiences with nurses could be like this. I could not have imagined or asked for a better nurse. Thank you, Corina Devries. I will remember you and be eternally grateful to you.