UM reunion story gains national audience

UM reunion story gains national audience

An unexpected, emotional reunion captured on video at a ribbon cutting ceremony at University of Mobile (UM) and seen nationwide days later on NBC Nightly News is truly a story of God at work, according to Erika Samuels and Philip Streit.

“This chance reconnection could only have been orchestrated by our Heavenly Father,” said Samuels, a senior at UM’s School of Nursing. “This story resonates with so many because it speaks of God’s saving grace, mercy and love.”
That moment was captured on video by UM’s marketing and public relations office and quickly went viral, catching the attention of NBC Nightly News correspondent Tammy Leitner. She and her crew came to interview Samuels and Streit, and that story aired to a national audience Feb. 26.

At the ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 21 for UM’s new Center for Excellence in Healthcare Practice, the two subjects of the story were in attendance — Samuels was in her UM nursing uniform and UM School of Nursing alumnus Streit, now a nursing administrator at Providence Hospital in Mobile, was in scrubs.

Samuels also was featured on a video about the new state-of-the-art health care labs. When her name flashed on the screen, Streit realized this was his former patient, one who had touched his heart 15 years ago. After the ribbon cutting, Streit approached Samuels and asked if she had been in a bad car accident years ago.

“I was your nurse,” he told her.

It all came streaming back to both of them — Samuels, the 21-year-old whose car had been hit by a drunk driver who died at the scene, and Streit, the recent UM nursing school graduate who held her hand and picked the broken windshield glass from her hair.

“I almost lost my life that night and to have the one who cared about me while my parents weren’t there — he gave me more than nursing care, he actually gave me life,” Samuels recalled tearfully. That compassion and care were reasons she decided to enroll at UM and earn a nursing degree.

Moment of compassion

Streit said the reunion story of a patient and her nurse came at a time when people are longing for good news.
“Basically people are fed up with stories of division, hate and negativity,” he said. “Every once in a while it’s nice to hear stories that show good old-fashioned kindness, compassion and positivity.”

Their story emphasized “the fact that what nurses do is important every minute of every hour of every day. The smallest act, holding her hand, meant the world on this night. Nurses are sometimes there when family or loved ones cannot be,” Streit said.

He added, “I think every interaction we have means something. God puts you in every single place for a reason. We just didn’t realize how important this place was until 15 years later.”

Samuels said she is thankful for the beautiful friendship that has developed from her reconnection with Streit. “I am confident in stating that the work he began with the nursing care provided to me will continue on. I proudly carry the torch and I pray that I can touch someone’s life the way that he has touched mine.” (UM)