My grandmother was transferred to Main 11 West from the Neuroscience ICU after suffering from a fall, resulting in a brain bleed. Unfortunately, 8 days after my grandmother was admitted, my mother had a stroke and was admitted to the Neuroscience ICU.

I remember coming to the hospital the day my mother had a stroke, and while she was in surgery, I visited my grandmother. This was when I met N and Juanita. N was new to the unit and training with Juanita. I remember they took the time to listen while I shared some personal facts about my grandmother, including how she was a pastor for 30 years. Days later, I learned that Juanita played gospel music for my grandmother during their interactions. The nurses treated my family like they had known us their whole lives.

As a nurse, being on the other end was so difficult. It was so comforting to have such wonderful nurses involved in my family's care. There were a lot of moving pieces between my grandmother and my mother's care. When my mother was moved to the acute neuroscience unit, my grandmother had been moved back to the neuroscience ICU. Juanita was able to jump through hoops and arrange for my mother to visit my grandmother, which she had been begging to do. Towards the end of my mother and grandmother's hospital stay, they both ended up on the same unit, which was the acute neuroscience unit where Juanita was.

During this hard time, it was truly a blessing to have such wonderful nurses who took the time to listen and share stories with us while we were going through one of the most difficult moments of our lives. My mother is back home and doing well! My grandmother was sent home with hospice services. She passed peacefully in her home.

Although I'm so sad that Juanita didn't get to meet the grandmother that I knew, I am so incredibly thankful that she was there to care for her in some of her hardest moments. Juanita is one of the sweetest souls you will ever meet, and I will never be able to thank her enough.