From the moment I woke up from DKA, Spencer entered the room with a smile, asking how I felt, and my sarcastic response was, "Fabulous." See, he understood my personality and dry sense of humor. He answered every question honestly and didn't sugarcoat anything.

After 35 years as a Type I diabetic, I had never been in DKA, never had to go to a Cath Lab, and didn't know why this all happened to me. We chatted about college, babies, toddlers, daycare, singing karaoke, and how I think he should buy his wife a vacation house on West Lake Okoboji because it's better than anything in Missouri.

Spencer was smiling the whole time, all while charting, finger pokes, lab draws, flushing my lines, putting gripping socks on, getting me to the bathroom, injecting my insulin, giving me my meds, making sure I wasn't in pain, getting me warm blankets, switching the potassium to the correct line so my arm wasn't burning, making sure I got to eat after 17 hours of NPO, and listening to stories of my crazy family. He went to infinity and beyond (because I know what movie he watches with his toddler), far exceeding the expectations of his duties as my RN, and treated the girl with diabetes like any other person.