Nate cared for my mother on 2C for several days throughout a week-long stay at Frederick Health. In addition to having Stage 4 breast cancer, she developed an infection in her gall bladder, which had to be removed. There were many complications along the way, including sepsis, a stent procedure, an upper GI bleed, and a transfusion of 5 units of blood. Our stay ended with a transfer and flight to UMMC Shock Trauma. The entire week, and in particular the eight or so hours leading up to the transfer, were some of the darkest days and hours I've ever experienced, but Nate especially, and several other of the aides and nurses on 2C, were my bright spots throughout that difficult time. One day my mother was so discouraged with the amount of drainage in her JP drain - so Nate brought her a little fabric bag to cover it. Nate also took the time to print a JP Drainage log so I could track the drainage, too. I knew the nurses were doing it, but somehow keeping track of it myself helped me, especially when I started to see the amount of drainage decrease. I stayed with my mother nearly 24/7 and had so many questions along the way. Nate always helped me understand what he was doing and why and answered questions patiently. In the final 8-10 hours before we transferred out, Nate was with our family so much.

I read on the bulletin board that Nate had several family members who were impacted by cancer, and I believe that Nate thinks about and treats his patients the way that he would want any one of those family members to be treated. I just want Nate to know that he made a difference to my mother and our family during that dark and difficult week. And isn't that what all of us want to be able to say when we finish our work day? That we made a difference? Nate made a difference, and I want him to know how much I appreciate him. Keep going, Nate, even on the hard days! I am happy to report that my mother was discharged from UMMC and we just got that JP drain removed because we were down to 10 MLs! Thank you, Nate, you’re the very best! Love ya!