On a Friday afternoon, my daughter received a call that her husband had been in a car/semi wreck, was seriously injured and in an emergency room of St. Alphonsus Ontario. He was going to be transferred to the trauma unit in Boise, and had a broken neck but was thought to be stable enough to be moved by ground ambulance. She called me and we flew to Boise from Portland where both of us lived, not knowing what we would be facing, and we were afraid. My son-in-law received excellent care from all the nursing staff the whole time he was there. St. Alphonsus lives up to its mission and values. But Chris stood out. He not only took care of my son-in-law, but he took care of us also. He always explained what he was doing and why, told us as new results came in and what they meant, gave meds on time, had a gentle touch, told us what all the meds were and why my son-in-law was taking them, and was technically skilled at carrying out all the various tasks that needed to be completed. I think those are the characteristics of all excellent nurses. But in addition to all that, he delivered compassionate care to not only my son-in-law but also to me and my daughter. He helped us see ways in which my son-in-law was improving. Because he had a C-2 fracture, Chris taught us how to do the daily changes of the rigid cervical collar and talked us through doing it ourselves twice before discharge. He understood our fear that we might do something wrong and make my son-in-law worse. So by the time we had to leave what felt like a safe haven, we were still apprehensive but felt like we could actually care for the person we love. He was unfailingly gentle and kind with everyone. I watched him as he taught and supported a nursing student with the same care. Hospital care doesn't get better than this.