I was taken to the emergency room at Methodist West Hospital for an E. coli infection that had spread to my bloodstream and had made me septic. I was in the hospital for 9 days and this nurse was my night nurse for several of those days. I’ve never been in the hospital as a patient so to say that I was scared is, to put it mildly.

The days were not bad, there was always someone, a doctor, a PCA, a nurse, and members of my family (in my room talking to me and keeping me distracted from my predicament but at night it was another story). Although my mother spent each night with me, I was still left with my thoughts, fears, and worries – that is where this nurse would come in. Each evening Vivian would step into my room and greet me and my mother with warmth and kindness and each evening she would tell me not to worry because I was going to be just fine. Simple words, I know but they gave me such comfort as I lay in that bed! Nurses are amazing and nurses like Vivian are even more so. I am so grateful for her.