A patient reunites with her nurse after 35 years, and their reunion makes for an extraordinary day.
35 years ago, Alyson Brittain was a hospital patient. She credits her nurse, Ceddie Persaud, with saving her life and helping her overcome a rare autoimmune condition.
RELATED: Dying Mother Had 1 Last Request So Her Nurse Adopts The Woman’s Son After She’s Gone
The two lost touch when Alyson got out of the hospital. Recently, she came across an older photo of them and wanted to thank Ceddie. She reached out to CBS News Contributor David Begnaud for help.
Ceddie helped Alyson heal from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Alyson shared. Guillain-Barre is a condition where the body's immune system attacks its nerves. According to Mayo Clinic, it can cause weakness, numbness, or paralysis. It is a rare type of disease.
"I was hospitalized and completely paralyzed when this debilitating disease struck me," Alyson said. "I would love to give her a hug just one more time and thank her for what she meant to me."
RELATED: 2 Off-Duty Nurses Who Were in the Right Place Tearfully Reunite with the Man They Saved
CBS Mornings wanted to help. They found Ceddie in Temecula, California. They told her they would reunite her with Alyson in Bentonville, Arkansas, over video chat. But they flew Alyson out to California instead as a surprise.
"She was my angel and my light in the time that it was so dark," Alyson shares. "I was scared and I was lonely and she and her alone made me think that I was going to be OK."
Ceddie was in her home waiting to talk to Alyson when Alyson called her right from her front yard. Ceddie then told her that someone was knocking on the door. She opened the door, and the two gave each other a big hug. "I found you," Alyson said.
RELATED: She Had To Give Up Her Newborn But 80 Years Later, Mother And Daughter Reunion Is Touching
"I didn't know what happened after you went home," Ceddie told Alyson.
"You have no idea all these years what you meant to me," Alyson says.
The two women sit down, and the tears start to flow. Ceddie shares that you never forget someone who makes an impact and that she never forgot Alyson. Alyson shares her heartfelt thoughts as well, "Every day you came and said, 'You're going to be okay.'"
"Did you know that I was so worried?" Ceddie responds. She also shared that she would tell her head nurse she wanted to care for Alyson as one of her patients. "You allowed me. You allowed me to take care of you, Alyson," she says.
Good nurses genuinely make all the difference when you are sick. It's clear that the two of them meant so much to one another and remembered each other. When Alyson needed her, Ceddie was there, and her life was impacted forever. It is heartwarming to see this patient be able to reunite with her nurse after so much time.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Mom Hunts Son for 32 Years & Helps 29 Parents Find Their Missing Kids Before Reunion of Her Own
"Why comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also you do." -1-Thessalonians 5:11
h/t: CBS News
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/CBS Mornings