My mom was admitted to Essentia after falling into a diabetic coma. We spent five days on the 5th floor before moving down to the 3rd floor of cardiac care. Kendra was my mom’s nurse on her first full day on the 3rd floor, and from the start, she was amazing. My dad and I were unsure of what was happening a lot of the time. We asked a lot of questions. Kendra fielded most of our questions those first couple of days, and she realized early on that we were unsure and needed a little more reassurance.

Kendra spent extra time each time she was in the room explaining what she was doing and why, what to expect that day or in upcoming days, and she asked so many times if she could get us anything. The moment that impacted me most was a Saturday morning when Kendra was on duty. Weekends are quiet with no PT or OT, no doctor visits, etc. Mom had been in the hospital for seven days at this point, and my brain shifted gears to what Mom might be needing. I asked Kendra if Mom could take a shower. Kendra said absolutely she can because everyone deserves to feel human in the hospital. Kendra finished making the rounds for her other patients and had a different nurse looking out for those patients. Kendra spent over an hour helping mom shower, brush her teeth, comb her hair and then she changed mom’s bedding, so everything was fresh and clean. Kendra took time to chat with my mom and learned about my mom’s career in nursing. My mom was thrilled and appreciated the help and the chat so much. The small act of a shower, bringing such happiness to my mom, made me tear up.

Kendra was a kind and caring soul in a moment when we were unsure of what the next step would be. She went beyond caring for just the patient and looked out for us as family when she could have just as easily blown us off. Essentia is lucky to have Kendra Knain tending to the patients. She is gold. Thank you, Kendra, for everything you did for us. It was so very much appreciated.