Hope Remains: My Sister April, A Psych Nurse Who Follows Her Heart

From: “Dear April” in Hope for Troubled Minds

I want to tell a story I’ve told many times before. But I can’t tell it enough. It’s the story of what happens when someone with a mental illness falls into the pit of despair and is lifted up by the loving faithfulness of one who cares.

December 1, 2016. I am in the Goodman exit lane off I-490 in Rochester, New York. An unusual light shines in my rearview. In seconds, I hear a loud crack and feel a tremendous lurch. Someone traveling too close, going too fast, hit me. Hard.

I called 911 and a policeman showed up, followed by an ambulance. I was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital where they ran tests and found nothing conclusive. But I became increasingly agitated. I became convinced that I was paralyzed. Three doctors ran tests on me at separate times and concluded that nothing was wrong. Physically.

That’s when I called you.

You lived in Indiana, 500 miles away from that Emergency Department at Strong in Rochester, New York. It was almost midnight. But you calmly listened to me. Even when I told you I was receiving no care. Even when I told you I was contacting my lawyer to sue the hospital.

You listened. You didn’t try to convince me my confused thoughts were illogical. Instead, you advocated for me, calling the ED nurses’ station to explain to them that I was having a manic episode, that I was not on drugs, that I wasn’t like this, that I needed psychotropic meds and psychiatric care.

In time, I was transferred to a psychiatric unit. I was given medication. But it took a while to take effect. My emotions were raw. I cried. Then laughed. Yelled. Then apologized. Cried some more. They asked me if I wanted to call anyone.

I called you.

You asked how I was doing. I bawled. Before I could get a word out, you said, “I will come, if you want me to.” I didn’t want to ask you. You have a family. A job. A home.

Again, you asked, “Do you want me to come?”

I was so overwhelmed. Now, all the emotions I had felt were absorbed into one. Gratitude.

It was nearly 6 a.m. when I got off the phone. By 6 p.m., you walked into my room carrying a Starbucks coffee and a bag of chocolate espresso beans.

Loving faithfulness. It’s hard to find in a world filled with unconcern. But each time it happens, it is a miracle. God working through angels to pull us out of pits, to show us hope, to shine light in the darkness.

Follow-up (August 14, 2025):

After her angelic flight to be with me in that Rochester, NY hospital, my sister April would go on to open up the basement of her home to me which provided me a sanctuary for healing. By the grace of God and with the help of family, friends, and my four-legged support lab Briley, I have been blessed with much healing. In December of 2023, I moved to the hills of Upstate NY, into my Delightful Domain on my family’s farm where I continue to grow by faith in recovery with Jesus Christ, my Higher Power. I’m delighted to share that my sister April is still faithfully serving in her life and work by caring for her developmentally disabled sister-in-love Susie and working as a psych nurse administrator at Windrose Health Network. It is my hope and prayer that one day soon “Sis” will be able to retire, rest from her labors, and receive some of the many blessings she has shared with me and many.