In 2022, my wife of 37 years was diagnosed with aggressive cancer at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL. In June of the same year, she lost the battle and the love of my life and caretaker went to a better place.

The beginning of 2023 was a rough start for me as all my years of cardiac damage came to a head. My wife had endured many of my health events and was always there to take care of me. On Friday of Easter weekend 2023, I was exiting Mayo Clinic after a week of cardiac tests and a final adjustment to my Pacemaker/Defibrillator. This was the same weekend a year earlier when my wife was diagnosed with cancer. After walking 20 feet outside the hospital, my heart failed. I had a deadly cardiac event and survived after my ICD shocked me four times. I was immediately transported and triaged back into Mayo Hospital.

After visiting my cardiologist in ER, she said “Congratulations, you just got a ticket to the Mayo Heart Transplant program”. I was stabilized and taken to a room. I was in the same hospital my wife entered just the year before, fighting for my life, just as she had done.

I was inspired by my mother to get through this challenge. You see, my mother had been a head nurse over operating rooms in Arkansas for most of her 40-year career. She managed surgeons, nurses, facilities personnel, and most importantly patient outcomes. Mom won accolades for her ability to manage successful outcomes by establishing the trust and respect of all in her care. My mother was an unselfish person who gave so much more to people than she ever received. She wanted and expected nothing in return.

Entering the Mayo Hospital transplant program became an extraordinary blessing for me. There are 450 million people on earth, probably millions who have cardiac disease, and only thousands of people who receive heart transplants per year. At Mayo, less than a hundred per year receive a transplant. I was in rare company and knew that I had been blessed with an extraordinarily rare opportunity to live. My first surgery was installing a heart pump called the Impella. This improved my blood oxygen dramatically and my condition. I was able to walk again and began to do more distances. This was my only lifeline until a new heart could be found. Only the doctors knew that I was at a very high risk of having another Vtac, which would be my last one. My heart would not survive the shock.

While I was waiting for a new heart, I found ways to be productive such as writing movie scripts, engaging in activities with other patients, messaging friends, etc. On June 20, I realized that no matter what my strength was, I needed to prepare myself for having to celebrate my wife’s passing while in the ICU. This is a place where the highs and lows of life are experienced over a 24-hour period every day. It can be overwhelming if you lose perspective. I asked the team leader if I could have only female nurses on that day in the hopes this would ease the pain of her loss. She agreed and told me they would look after me.

Later that day, a bubbly happy nurse popped her face around my curtain and said, “Hi”. It was Carolina. She had provided outstanding care a few nights before by listening to my situation. I gave back to her by listening to her talk about life and her personal obstacles to finding true happiness. I offered advice but knew she would resolve the issue herself and move forward. Carolina is from El Salvador and has family roots in the country. Carolina asked me “What was your wife’s favorite dish?”. I told her my wife had many favorite dishes, but my favorite was our first date when she made chicken cordon blue with blueberry fluff as dessert. Carolina said “Ok, thank you”, and left the room. I knew something was up.

Exactly a year after my wife’s passing, this day was an emotional day for me. I was struggling with the excitement of getting a new heart, my wife not being with me to celebrate, and many other emotions racing through my mind. All day, people tried to provide some comfort, but it just wasn’t the same. I tried to control my anxiety, but it was very difficult to come to grips with being inside an ICU while wanting to spiritually be with my wife. It was going to be a long night. I had to control how I felt to prevent a potentially deadly cardiac event from occurring. About an hour before dinner, Carolina popped her head in again saying “Hi, I’m going to be your nurse tonight. “. “I have arranged something special for you so don’t order any dinner”. Carolina had provided excellent care on previous night shifts by taking blood samples without disturbing me, managing bright lights, loud noises from pumps, asking how I felt, applying back pain cremes, explaining medicines, cleaning dressings on my incision, assessing pick lines, managing weight measurement, walking with me holding the Impella for literally 5-7 miles in a day, providing medicines orally and through IVs on time using sanitary methods, and many other critical care functions that may or may not be immediately life-threatening. I was relieved she was helping tonight but I wasn’t sure about the dinner thing.

At 5:30 pm, Carolina was back in my room well ahead of her 7 pm shift time. She walked in and said “Hi, I have a surprise for you. I arranged to have chicken cordon blue with blueberry fluff prepared for your dinner. You and I are going to have dinner together tonight and celebrate your wife’s passing”. I was overwhelmed with emotions. The anxiety quickly turned to joy and suddenly, I felt a warm sensation running down my neck calming me like a large load had been lifted off my back.

Carolina had brought her grandmother's fine China, silverware, and goblet. She placed a pillowcase on my tray as a tablecloth and made a five-star setting for a 5-star meal. The food was fabulous! I talked with her the rest of the time before her shift about my wife and her family. The anxiety vanished from my mind and was replaced with comfort and love from the memory of my wife. Carolina knew that I was walking often, that my feet were sore, and that I had developed a small rash on both feet. On her 7 pm shift with me that night, she did one more very special thing. Carolina prepared a warm water foot bath and washed my feet. It was a very humbling experience and provided a soothing comfort like no other. I was able to release all the anxiety bound inside of me like a ball made of rubber bands. Finally, I would sleep great for the night knowing that I had celebrated my wife’s passing with the help of a very unselfish person whom my wife would have been proud to know. She would be happy.

Sometimes the definition of excellent healthcare is defined by responses from medical professionals in traumatic situations. In my case, excellent healthcare is defined by someone who has the unique ability to not only respond well in traumatic situations but to go further than ever imagined by giving your heart and soul to listen, be humble, and take actions beyond anyone’s expectation to truly make someone happy. Carolina meets that definition. The rest of that night she provided all the necessary medical services to me with the most pleasant attitude and calming voice. I made it through the night not only with no worry but with a very restful sleep.

Carolina is a diamond among the many gems at Mayo. As I mentioned above about my mother, she would have certainly given her an award if mom were alive to hear about the experience. As a result, I believe Carolina should be recognized as truly representing an example of compassionate outstanding medical care that meets the more important goal of helping patients find true happiness in life. I had difficulty agreeing with Carolina when she asked that I not share this story with anyone as she was not going the extra step for recognition, but rather, for my care. Just like my mother, she is an extremely unselfish person. It was very difficult for me to break that bond, but I knew the risk of nominating her would far outweigh the benefit of winning the DAISY Award. In the long term, Carolina would find true happiness showing her family and any future children or grandchildren an example of how she lived her life by being unselfish and helping others find true happiness.