I was admitted to UoM Health West for symptoms of Optic Neuritis that led to nearly 100% vision loss in my left eye. That Tuesday was a long day of going between my PCP's office, a UofM Ophthalmologist, and the UofM Health West ED; I was finally upstairs in a room around 10 pm.

I could barely see anything as they needed to keep the lights low to not exacerbate my condition. My vision was nearly completely blocked in the left eye, and my right eye does not work at 100% either, normally. After a long night and a lot fewer answers and very little sleep, much less rest, my patient care for days was taken on by Sarai Droge-Ball. She made a seamless transition of support for me from the night-care team to the day-care team. She was well-informed of the chaos that we presented for the last several hours and accepted the opportunity that appeared before her.

There was a lot of information coming fast and furious, and lots of things to manage in the comfort, rest, and anxiety realms in addition to all of the medical and medicinal challenges that were popping up throughout my stay there as they were trying to determine what was causing the vision loss, and to prevent it from getting worse.

Sarai was my nurse for more of the days of my stay than not, and that consistency combined with her character, compassion, and care made for an excellent time during my stay. We had way more questions than answers during this stay, lots of medications being administered, lots of blood work, lots of interruptions to my sleep, in addition to the medically-induced challenges of increased blood pressure and increased blood sugar levels due to the type of treatment. This required extra attention to balancing the correct level or additional medications, which related to additional interruptions and finger pricks for glucose, and regular insulin injections.

Having lost a brother to undiagnosed Diabetes and a related heart attack, this presented a lot of anxiety. Sarai noticed this and took the time to help reduce my concerns in this area and provided the needed care. I felt at ease through it all as Sarai made sure I had what I needed, did an excellent job of explaining how each thing she did impacted my care plan, and was always there to see if I needed anything.

We were more than just boxes to be checked during our stay here. Sarai made sure we had the support and connections to the doctors and Neurology responsible for my care too. Sarai managed my care with poise and professionalism, and made it an excellent experience that reflects highly and well on the UofM Health-West system. She is the type of person who makes you want to go to a specific hospital/hospital system for care because she cares. Thank you, Sarai, for the excellent experience on some of the worst and darkest days of my life.