Giving Back to Nurses & Caregivers: How You Helped Me Keep a Promise

There are moments in life that change you forever.

For me, one of those moments was standing in a hospital room at St. Vincent's, watching a team of nurses care for my Mom with such genuine compassion that I had to remind myself to breathe.

In that moment, I made a quiet promise to myself.

This is that story.

A Promise to My Dad

When my father passed in 2021, I moved in with my Mom to be there for her — to honor a promise I had made to him.

What I didn't expect was how much that journey would change me.

I went from a shy corporate accountant to a confident storyteller and entrepreneur. That transformation didn't happen in spite of grief. It happened because of the people around me — my Mom, my Dad's memory, and the nurses and caregivers who showed up for us every single day.

To the nurses at St. Vincent's: you filled our hearts with love and gratitude. You energized every room you walked into. You showed us how to show up for others — with a smile, with purpose, with heart.

You are my heroes. I mean that sincerely.

The Best Question I Ever Asked

During our time at the hospital, I did something that turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I asked five nurses for their single best piece of advice for a caregiver.

I wish I had asked more people that question.

That advice has carried me.

On the hard days at home, when things get tough and I'm not sure I have what it takes, I lean on those words — and it feels like those nurses are right there in the room with me.

That's the power of what they gave us. Not just medical care. Wisdom that travels home.

A Guide Born from Gratitude

I want to build something meaningful from those conversations.

The goal is a caregiving guide — a collection of the best advice from nurses and caregivers, published anonymously alongside my Mom's story. It will be shared in a local magazine to celebrate her, distributed through Guide4Good Wisconsin, and — eventually — handed to patients and families at discharge.

Here is the hard truth:

- Most people don't know how to show up for someone who is suffering. - Most people don't know how to express gratitude to the nurses and caregivers who give so much of themselves.

I want to change both of those things.

Turning Grief Into Purpose

My parents have always been my guides in life. Guide4Good Wisconsin is my way of honoring their legacy.

My Mom's superpower has always been her kindness. She uplifts people through compliments and genuine curiosity about their lives. Her favorite lines — "Keep That Smile" and "Love You Most" — are more than phrases. They're a way of living.

Over the last four years, watching her move through the world that way taught me more about leadership and human connection than any business book ever could.

Golf and helping others were what bonded my Dad and me most. We traveled, made memories, and laughed a lot on the course.

Golf as a caregiver is hard. The time. The energy. The mental weight of it all. But I still believe in what the game can do for the soul.

That's why we're building a golf meetup for nurses and caregivers.

The most uplifting people I know are nurses. Putting caregivers and nurses on a golf course together? I believe that could be a genuinely powerful thing.

Writing as a Way Through

Writing and storytelling have been therapeutic for me in ways I didn't fully anticipate.

There is something clarifying about putting grief into words. About naming what you have been through and finding the thread of meaning that runs through it.

My Mom and Dad showed me that the most fulfilling thing in life is lifting up others. That lesson is the foundation of everything I'm building now — a blog, a guide, a community platform where the voices of people who uplift others can be amplified.

When one person's story reaches someone who needs it, something ripples outward.

I experienced that firsthand at St. Vincent's. I felt it every time a nurse walked into that room.

To Every Nurse and Caregiver Reading This

We see you. We are so grateful for you.

What you do is not small. It is enormous. It is sacred. And it matters more than you may ever fully know — because its effects travel far beyond the walls of a hospital room.

They travel home with families. They become the advice someone leans on during a hard night. They become a promise kept.

Thank you for helping me keep mine.

Takeaways from the Hospital Room

See the Good

Five nurses. One question. A lifetime of wisdom. The good was already in that room — I just had to be present enough to ask for it.

Be the Good

My Mom's "Keep That Smile" and "Love You Most" weren't slogans. They were a practice. Showing up with kindness, every day, in small ways, is the work.

Share the Good

A caregiving guide. A golf meetup. A blog post like this one. When we share what we've learned, we make the road easier for the next family walking it.

One Thing to Carry With You

You don't have to start a non-profit. You don't have to write a book.

You just have to ask the people doing the hard work what they've learned — and pass it on. A thank-you note. A meal dropped off. A piece of advice shared with a friend whose parent just got the diagnosis.

That's how a hospital room full of gratitude becomes a community full of it.

See the good. Be the good. Share the good.

Want to contribute your best advice for caregivers? Share your wisdom anonymously as part of the Guide4Good Wisconsin caregiving guide. Contact us through the website — your words could be exactly what someone needs to hear.

Guide4Good Wisconsin · Storytelling. Gratitude. Community.