Patient, Nurse Reunite At Long Island Hospital After 25 Years

VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A patient and nurse who shared a special connection were reunited Friday on Long Island.

Hadassah Willig hugged Maxine Hogan for the first time in 25 years at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital.

When she was five years old, Willig suffered swelling on the brain and wound up in a coma at the hospital.

She remembered hearing Hogan talk to her and take care of her during her illness and recovery.

"I just remember how sick she was, and how we'd sit there with her and her mom just hoping that everything goes OK," Hogan said.

"She tuned in to my needs and was there to comfort me when it was a scary time for me, whether it was when doctors did rounds with 15 doctors coming in the room, getting IVs, medications, going to tests," Willig added.

Willig said Hogan inspired her to become a nurse.

Hogan is still a nurse herself, but now lives and works at Broward Health Coral Springs in Florida. She flew up for the special reunion.