SHARIE McCUNE

Simon Ghertner suffered a near-fatal heart attack at home just days after Christmas last year. He spent nearly two weeks in a coma at Emory University Hospital's cardiac care unit.

Ghertner's wife, Hannah, visited him often.

"It seemed like he was cold all the time, but the staff said they were concentrating on getting blood to his major organs," Ghertner said. "They told me he wasn't really aware of the coldness, but I kept asking them to put blankets on him.

"When nurse Sharie McCune came on duty, she just took over, caring for my husband like a mother hen. Without even knowing what was bothering me, she wrapped his hands and feet in warm towels and covered him with flannel blankets. The next time I came in to see him, even though he was still in a coma, he looked more comfortable and relaxed."

McCune, RN, doesn't believe that what she did was extraordinary. "I've learned in my nursing career that it's the little things that patients and their families appreciate. Just helping them be able to brush their teeth, wash their hair or give them a bath means so much."

McCune, 57, didn't plan to become a nurse, but a summer job at a nursing home in her hometown of Wheaton, Ill., changed her life. She left college in her junior year to pursue her nursing diploma from Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis 34 years ago.

"I'm probably one of the only diploma nurses still around," McCune said. "I do have a bachelor of arts degree from Georgia State in English and a master of fine arts degree, but I got those long after I started my nursing career."

Simon Ghertner is back at home with his grateful family.

"My husband has come back to me completely," Ghertner said. "He doesn't really remember the kindness done to him in the CCU when he was in a coma, but I know that it was nurses like Sharie McCune that took those extra steps to make him feel comforted, and that helped him to awaken from his coma."