There was one particular patient who I will never forget, Karen (name is changed). I met Karen during my rounds of St. Martin’s In-Patient Unit. We connected when I gave her a silk bonnet to replace her blue hospital bonnet, and it made her “feel like a lady.” After that first interaction, our friendship grew. We talked 30-40 minutes every day, we prayed together, she told me about her daughter and her grandson, and we shared many laughs.

When it was finally time for her to be discharged, we hugged our last hug and cried. She told me she loved me, and I told her that I loved her too. The next week she came back to St. Martin’s to visit me and to remind me that she was starting dialysis downstairs. She said that if I didn’t visit she would come find me in St. Martin’s. I went to visit her, brought her books, and conducted a Living History Interview with her. Karen holds a very special place in my heart, and I will make it a point to visit her as much as I can while she’s in dialysis.

M. Abigail Cerezo