One day you wake up in the hospital not knowing what happened to you. You are connected to every machine possible, and you begin to panic because you have no idea how you got there. You remember you were pregnant but have no ability or strength to move to check your belly. You don’t feel anything other than your mind running at 100 miles per hour. Reality sinks in that you are in the hospital dying. But you are also worried about the child that you were supposed to birth, your baby boy. The nurses have put pictures up and you realize he is alive and well, but you don’t know what day it is. Even during all of that, one nurse stood out to me and made me feel peace, happiness, comfort, and a hope.

Cari Coscia is someone I can never forget! She is compassionate, intelligent and went above and beyond to ensure that I felt safe, cared for and important. She treated me with respect, patience, and kindness, and did the same to my family. She taught me to brush my teeth again, remembered my favorite food was Fruit Loops, and when I wasn’t eating, and the doctors required my intake to increase, Cari made it her mission to find foods I would like. She made sure I was always clean, and that my trach was clean and free of build-up. She made sure I always had my IPad available when I wanted to connect with my husband and children. She did things for me that maybe weren’t important to others, like shave my legs, or bring in different aromas so I could get my smell back. She would always say to me “you are looking great!” I have always been an independent person, and during my stay at Michigan Medicine I questioned myself “will I be useless all of my life now?” But believe me, that was the far from the truth when you have Nurse Cari! She taught me to be patient with myself and that I was tough enough to pull thru! I don’t think that I would have recovered as quickly without her medical expertise, her experience with patients, and her genuine compassion towards me.

She followed my chart to the fullest extent and when it was time to round, or transfer care to the next nurse, she ensured I was always cared for by relaying all information to her team members regarding my case. There are moments as a nurse I can imagine that are tough but even on the tough days (because we hear things from the hallways!) she didn’t push any of it on her patients and still walked in with a smile. I remember Cari holding my hand the moment I went blind and had to receive eye injections. The time I began speech therapy and had to learn how to use a speaking valve on my trach caused me great panic and anxiety. Cari knew that and wrote a note in the speaking valve case “you got this!”. She also celebrated Mother’s Day with me and my family. I can’t imagine how hard that day must have been being away from her own family and having to deal with lots of us out in the quad. She did it all with a smile and interacted with my family, leaving a lasting impact on them too. I know there were a number of nurses who worked tirelessly to save me, help me, and care for me and I am grateful to all of them!