Grateful Patient Returns with Sweet Thank-You Gift for Nurses

His run-in with the novel coronavirus was a harrowing experience, and the memory of his 24 days in treatment is foggy, but Clevelander Larry Davis remembered his nurses well enough to return after his recovery—with a gift of 15 pounds of chocolate.

As soon as he was on his feet again, Davis reappeared at University Hospital Portage Medical Center bearing large shopping bags of mood-enhancing treats for his caregivers, including Jill Dickey, his ICU nurse, and Trezla Nunemaker, his step down unit nurse. After distributing numerous boxes and canisters of sweets, a grateful Davis said, “I have pledged to the people here at this hospital that I would not squander the opportunity that they have given me to continue living and do good stuff for as many people as I can and I’m starting with that today.” Julia Skarbinski, the chief nursing officer, commented, “He was here a very long time and developed so many bonds with the nurses, and I think it’s such a treasure to see somebody walk out of the hospital and then come back to thank you.”

Like many COVID survivors, Davis can recall little of his time in the ICU: “I never knew that I had a tube down my throat. I never knew that I had a nasogastric tube feeding me. I was unaware that they were fighting for my life.” His nurses know that such forgetfulness is a blessing, as such invasive procedures can lead to PTSD. RN Jill Dickey reflected, “Thank goodness he doesn’t remember anything.”

Davis said his chocolate delivery is just a sampling of his gratitude, and he is looking for other ways in which he can show his appreciation for nurses and their families. For now, as the US death toll continues its passage beyond the 100,000 milestone, he is urging the importance of remaining vigilant: “Continue with these precautions as much as you can—I know they’re getting old—masks, social distancing, and so on. [Otherwise] You’ll have this disease before you know… your life will be threatened or worse—it will be taken from you.”

A Cleveland19 News interview with Davis and his nurses is available here.

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Koren Thomas

Associate Editor at DailyNurse

Koren Thomas (pictured with Assistant) was the associate editor of DailyNurse from late 2019 through July, 2022—and she was not joking about the "issue postage stamps saluting US nurses" idea. Send your article ideas, submissions, Nurse of the Week suggestions, comments, and corrections to the current Editor in Chief at [email protected].