Megan Ladenburger, whose sister received care at Nebraska Medical Center, writes about a nurse she'll never forget.

My sister, Brittany Consbruck, was diagnosed with Rett syndrome when she was two years old. It’s an awful disease that has robbed Brittany of her ability to walk, talk and even eat. However, despite the health struggles some people with Rett’s face, she’s been healthy most of her life.

That all changed in 2021. After being seen at the ER in Hastings, because of her unique anatomy, she was eventually transferred to Nebraska Medical Center for specialized care. She spent an entire night in the OR after losing a lot of blood during a procedure. She eventually ended up in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) on a ventilator.

That was where we met Alex Friend. 

We met many amazing nurses while Brittany received care at Nebraska Medical Center, but there was always one that stuck out to me. Alex was the first nurse we had after arriving in the SICU. We met her in the middle of the night, 24 hours after Brittany’s condition became serious and she needed massive amounts of blood put back into her.

Alex was so personable, confident and caring. I connected with her right away and she made me feel like Brittany was going to be ok. Fast forward a few weeks after Brittany had recovered and had been released and who do we see? Alex! We were sitting on a restaurant patio in Hastings and sure enough, it was her. She remembered our names, story and even our room number. Wow!

It was fun to engage with her in that environment—to be in a different state of mind and to be given the chance to tell her how much we truly appreciated her. Alex, thanks again for being an amazing nurse and for loving my sister.

You have a tough job, but you are damn good at it. Please remember that on those hard days!