When you think about a big hospital like UCSF medical center, the images of prominent professors, famous doctors, and skillful surgeons might first come to your mind. Yes, those are the people that put UCSF at a top spot among national hospitals in the country. But they are definitely not the only people making huge impacts to the patients there. We are going to give thanks to some unsung heroes in this post.

On March 17 night, Rebecca was taken to UCSF from El Camino Hospital in an ambulance. The ambulance was going at a pretty fast speed even though the siren was not on. Thomas was driving his own car with his daughter Gianna trying very hard to follow the ambulance. Being hesitant to run a red light, he lost track of the ambulance. Following Google Map direction, he arrived at the UCSF emergency department much later. The security guard at the ER entrance entered Rebecca’s name into the ER computer system but nothing showed up. Thomas and Gianna waited anxiously at the entrance. We tried again after 10 minutes and nothing still. We were desperate to find her but we did not know what to do. The security guard then asked Thomas a few questions about our situation. Then he switched to a different system and this time he found Rebecca. She was taken directly to the neurology ICU bypassing the ER. It was past 10pm. The hospital main entrance was already closed and the receptionist was gone. The security guard took us through some backdoors and corridors in order to get to Rebecca in the neurology ICU upstairs.

One might think the ER security guard had a boring job at the hospital. He could have just sit back and let Thomas and Gianna wait at the ER entrance for a long time. Instead he took the initiative to go an extra mile to help. He cared about other people’s needs. We are deeply thankful for his service.

Rebecca stayed in the neurology ICU for two nights to monitor the fluid built up inside her brain. After that she moved to a spacious private room on 15th floor of the neurology specialty unit. There she was taken care by two very caring nurses each for three days. Both of the nurses are relatively young. They were very gentle and attentive of Rebecca’s needs. They made her stay in the hospital much more bearable. They comforted her and encouraged her. They chatted with her. We exchanged phone numbers with them and hope to stay in touch. When Rebecca returned after two weeks to take off the incision staples, we stopped by 15th floor to say hi and once again thanked both of them for their love and care.

The food menu in the hospital looked like one from the restaurant. Rebecca just picked up the phone and made her order. After 30 minutes, a full tray of breakfast or lunch or dinner would appear in front of her. We never thought highly of hospital food but this experience might have changed our opinion. She actually liked the food and the wonderful desserts. Thomas sometimes also ordered a guest tray for just $9. A lot of people were working in the kitchen and delivering meals to patients. They are working tirelessly behind the scene.