Patient reunites with nurse who helped save her life 35 years ago: "She was my angel"
A woman in Arkansas shows it's never too late to thank your hero.
For Alyson Brittain, her dream to thank the nurse whom she credits for saving her life came decades after they met when she was battling an autoimmune condition.
"I was hospitalized and completely paralyzed when this debilitating disease struck me," Brittain said.
Brittain lost touch with Ceddie Persaud after she left the hospital, but recently stumbled on a picture of them together.
"She was my angel and my light in the time that it was so dark," Brittain said of Persaud. "I was scared and I was lonely and she and her alone made me think that I was going to be OK."
She wanted to thank Persaud and decided to reach out to CBS News contributor David Begnaud for help.
"I would love to give her a hug just one more time and thank her for what she meant to me," she said.
In a letter to Begnaud, Brittain wrote, "Dear David, My name is Alyson Brittain. This past May during National Nurses Week I shared on my Facebook my own story thanking a nurse named Ceddie who helped me heal from Guillain-Barre syndrome 35 years ago."
Brittain was Persaud's only patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome in her 35-year nursing career.
Begnaud and his team helped to track down Persaud, who lives in Temecula, California.
After being contacted by Begnaud, Persaud was expecting to reunite with Brittain over a video chat. Instead, Brittain was surprising her hero and flew to California.
Long-awaited reunion
As Brittain approached Persaud's home, she was shaking with excitement. Brittain and Begnaud made the video call while at Persaud's doorstep.
The two women began to chat when there was a knock at Persaud's door that shocked her.
"Oh my God, you actually came," Persaud said as she embraced Brittain. "I saw David in the window! Oh my God. I'm very surprised."
Persaud said she didn't know what happened after Brittain left the hospital but she never forgot about her and the impact she had on her career.
"Any time I'm on duty, I told the head nurse, 'I want to take care of Alyson as one of my patients.' But you know, she needed total care and you allowed me. You allowed me to take care of you, Alyson," Persaud said.
Brittain told Begnaud she couldn't even close her own eyelids. Persaud would come in and close them, which she also recounted.
"I remember the touch," Brittain said.
Persaud's care for Brittain meant so much to her entire family. Brittain explained her father was also sick at the time and her mother was trying to work and care for him.
"She said 'Ceddie is there for you when I can't be' and I knew that. … She trusted you."
The long-awaited reunion was more than Brittain ever could have imagined.
"It has been the thrill of a lifetime to be able to reconnect with that sweet lady," she said. "I love that I get to be in her life again. That's very very special to me."
David Begnaud loves uncovering the heart of every story and will continue to do so, highlighting everyday heroes and proving that there is good news in the news with his exclusive "CBS Mornings" series "Beg-Knows America." Every Monday, get ready for moments that will make you smile or even shed a tear. Do you have a story about an ordinary person doing something extraordinary for someone else? Email David and his team at DearDavid@cbsnews.com
