Working on the medical-surgical floor of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, Elizabeth King sees some patients multiple times. For the 32-year nursing veteran, that means more opportunities to develop strong relationships with patients and their families.

“Sometimes a patient will even request you as their nurse, which is always nice,” King said.

And when a patient and nurse form a special bond, the rewards are immeasurable.

“Honestly, the one thing I love about nursing is that when you’re giving yourself like that, you get back tenfold. It’s hard to explain,” she said.

One of King’s patients tried to put the experience into words when she nominated the nurse. Joanna Reid first met King when she was a patient at Piedmont three years ago, and since then she has been under her care every year.

“Since 2010, I have had dozens of operations and procedures at Piedmont Hospital,” Reid wrote. “Liz does all the typical nursing things that one expects, but she also goes above and beyond. From the first day I had Liz as my nurse, she was extremely compassionate without feeling pity for me.

“She appreciated my sense of humor that I have to maintain my sanity about my medical problems, and she always listened to my cares and concerns and taken them seriously. She has gone above and beyond so many times in so many different ways, from bringing me my favorite candy to going to a different floor on her lunch break to get me my favorite type of blanket when the floor I was on was out of them.”

King said the two have found common ground in their chronic conditions.

“I know what it feels like not to be able to breathe, to have severe pain, to be told that you have to wait for pain medicine,” King said. “I swore I’d never be that kind of nurse.”

The Chicago native’s introduction to the medical field began when she was diagnosed with severe asthma as a child.

“I was a very sick child and when I was in my 30s, I was told I had maybe two years to live, max,” King said. “I finally found a doctor who did surgery and found that I had microscopic holes in my lungs. I had three surgeries and that experience gave me the ability to understand what patients are going through. That’s why I went into nursing.”

Remembering her own experiences helps King connect with patients.

“Liz has helped make an impossible situation more possible, the unbearable more bearable, and the painful less so. She hasn’t just helped me to survive my health problems; she’s encouraged me to live my life in spite of them,” Reid wrote. “So while I don’t know what my future holds medically, I do know for certain that I will always consider Liz to be the most amazing nurse ever, an angel on earth, and a friend I will have and cherish forever.”

For King, her relationship with Reid transcends nurse and patient.

“To me, it’s been a privilege to be her nurse several times,” she said.