Happy National Nursing Week! To all of our nurses, thank you for caring for our community with compassion, professionalism, and respect. As a surprise for Nursing Week, we are featuring messages from grateful patients to the nurses who went above and beyond to make a difference in their care:

Greg Marbella, Registered Nurse, Mental Health & Addictions Program

Grateful patient Abby’s message for Greg:

“Two years ago I stayed at Humber for a few months in the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Unit. Greg, one of the nurses on the Unit, was so amazing. He really helped me through a hard time in my life. We both love music, so he brought in his guitar for me to play. Other staff and some of the patients would join us and we’d play guitar and sing songs. It really helped with healing. Thank you, Greg!” – Abby, Grateful Patient, Mental Health & Addictions Program

Birgit Mannella, Registered Nurse, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

NICU parent Silvia’s message for Birgit:

“To one of our lovely NICU Nurses Birgit,

I want to tell you how grateful I am. This is for you, and no matter how hard I try, these words can’t express how much I truly appreciate you. Thank you for making me feel that my babies were someone special to you. Thank you for trying to make us feel like people, not just patients. I love the times you would take Angelo for a walk or even to go buy him some chocolates just so me and daddy could have some time with the girls. I love that you talked to us about your family as well as mine. I love the moment you called me in the middle of the night just to tell me that my little Essanie was holding her head up on her own.

There are so many things that I love about you, but what I love most was the way you loved my babies.

Thank you!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for being a parent to our children when we couldn’t spend every hour of the day by their bed. Thank you for being that shoulder to lean on when we needed to vent, or laugh, or cry. You may just be doing your job, but you are touching lives with every family you meet. It takes a special person to become a NICU nurse. Thank you for being my children’s miracle worker.

From a NICU mom who will forever remember the smells and sounds, the love, tears and laughs, and the hearts full of compassion any time I look at my girls.

Love ,

Silvia, Eddison, Angelo, Essanie & Aria”

– Silvia, Grateful Mom, NICU

Nadiyah Husain, Registered Nurse, Birthing Unit

Grateful patient Lindsay’s message for Nadiyah:

“Nadiyah was there when our baby girl was born. There was no doubt we were in great hands. She was very caring and compassionate along with the other staff. She spent time after our baby was born chatting with us. Our family was so amazed how caring the team was. Thank you, Nadiyah, for your amazing care!” – Lindsay, Grateful Patient, Birthing Unit

Joanie Magee-Slavkin, Registered Nurse, Plastic Surgery Clinic

Grateful patient Sandy’s message for Joanie:

“By the time I started the reconstruction process in my cancer journey, I was already exhausted, and not even close to being done with my journey. Nurse Joanie made me feel at ease from the first moment I met her. She talked to me like a person – not a patient. Over the past 2 years, we formulated a sort of friendship… I always looked forward to my many visits to the plastics clinic and catching up with Nurse Joanie and the team.” – Sandy, Grateful Patient, Cancer Care Program