Edward Hospital

Healthcare Heroes: Finding Joy During a Pandemic

March was a busy month for Juliette Blondis, a healthcare hero at Edward Hospital in Naperville. She and Bryan Goshorn, her boyfriend of three years, canceled a vacation so Blondis could prepare her pulmonary medicine unit for COVID-19 patients. On March 19, something special happened.

“It was the first day of spring and it was a stressful time for my department,” Blondis said. “We didn’t have COVID-19 patients yet, but we were getting ready. Bryan called and asked if I could come downstairs for a quick talk. When I saw him standing outside the hospital with a huge bouquet of flowers, I knew.”

Goshorn got down on one knee and proposed to Blondis. She didn’t skip a beat—“yes!”

Little did Blondis know, her patients and colleagues were watching and cheering from inside.

“One of my pulmonary patients was so ecstatic,” Blondis recalled. “She said it made her whole stay to see us get engaged!”

As word of the proposal spread, Mary Lou Mastro, System CEO of Edward-Elmhurst Health, came out to congratulate the couple.

Then, Blondis got back to work.

“The bottom line is to take care of our patients,” she said. “Although this is a new and scary time, being a nurse you tend to be a very resilient person. As a team, we’ve really rolled up our sleeves to adjust.”