Jen was my nurse immediately following surgery. She was caring, compassionate, and attentive. She changed my bloody dressings without batting an eye and made sure I had pain medicine on schedule. Jen was everything I could want in a nurse post-surgery, yet this isn’t why I’m writing.

My roommate was an elderly woman who had a stroke and was emotionally struggling because she didn’t understand why she was in the hospital, wasn’t sleeping well, and was anxious about not being able to eat and/or get up without assistance. She was agitated every time someone from the lab came to draw blood, and she repeated often that she simply wanted to go home. As the day progressed, her level of agitation escalated. Jen wasn’t her assigned nurse, yet more than once, she offered reassurance in a low tone that was caring, patient, and reassuring. She was willing to answer the same basic questions over and over again for my roommate and asked her assigned nurse to address some of the more detailed questions directly related to medical care.

From the other side of the curtain, I witnessed my roommate’s overall demeanor go from agitated and teary to calm, even referring to Jen multiple times as her “angel.” Make no mistake, Jen was helping me in the process, as it was hard for me to rest and recover with my roommate’s anxiety and agitation so high. Nursing, at its finest, is a combination of genuine care, compassion, and the medical skills to promote healing. I witnessed this again and again throughout the day as Jen cared for my roommate with what was clearly a heartfelt desire to help ease her anxiety and upset. It was the right thing to do, and it was compassion at a level that I deeply appreciated. My roommate and I both benefited significantly from her care.