In September, I was admitted into Providence of Portland ICU. I had Covid, and Providence was my last stop. I was sent there because they had an ECMO machine, and that is what was required to save my life. When I woke up, I had no idea where I was. I didn’t even know what month it was. I couldn’t speak because the tube from when they intubated me paralyzed one of my vocal cords. Everyone took such very good care of me that I was able to get off the ECMO. I was told by a few different nurses that they had never seen anyone do that. While all of my nurses, doctors, and anyone who took care of me while I was there will live in my heart for the rest of my life, there was one nurse who stood out from the rest. His name was Sterling. I wish I knew his last name. My doctor had given them the OK to give me ice, and they were giving me cups of ice. One day, Sterling came in, he said he didn’t like the way my lungs were sounding, so he took away my ice and wouldn’t let me have more than five pieces an hour. Which, for someone who wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything, was really disappointing. But he did the right thing, I was a swallow risk, and he might’ve saved my life by not allowing me to have all the ice that I wanted.

Sterling was the first one who noticed my hair was in complete disarray, which I get is probably not a big priority on a lot of people’s list, and I get that. It was important to me, and he took my hair out of the messy bun that it was in, he washed it, he brushed it. Then he put it into two French braids. He told me that he had five daughters and one on the way, so he knew how important stuff like that was. After a full week of being there, unable to speak, Sterling noticed that I was squinting. He asked me if I had glasses. I nodded. And then he proceeded to search every inch of my belongings. He pulled everything out, and he didn’t stop looking until he found my glasses. 

While these things may sound insignificant, they really meant a lot to me. I had a really hard time there, my mental health was deteriorating. Anytime Sterling noticed me giving up, he would remind me what I was fighting for. He would talk to me about my husband and my cats. He helped me maintain the strength I needed to get out of there. I will forever be grateful to him for that. And even if my nomination doesn’t get him the award, I still hope he sees this, because I’ve always wanted to tell him how grateful I am. I just don’t know how. If anyone deserves an award for their empathy and compassion, it’s him.