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While stashing his carryon bag under the seat, Dan Lovnaria, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, accidentally brushed the leg of a man in his 70’s who had just taken the middle seat

next to him on a flight to Minneapolis. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.” “Don’t worry they’re going to replace my hip next week anyway,” said John McPhillips, who had narrowly made the cut to get on the

plane, he and his wife had been in standby.  “Oh really, where are you getting going to get it done?  “The VA.”  “The VA? I work at the VA!” said Lovnaria. “When is your surgery? 

“Wednesday.”   “Thursday,” yelled McPhillips’ his wife Vicky from two seats down.    McPhillips is an Army Veteran. He was stationed with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam from

1969-1970. He was a company commander with three stripes, that’s how short of help they were. With the carrot of a commission, they asked him to stay on six months more. “I figured, you

know, luck runs out at some point in time. And I’d pressed mine pretty hard.   “I was one of those who was spit on when I got off the plane,” McPhillips continued. “Back in those days your

family could come down to meet the plane. My parents were there, everyone was there, and some kid my own age, in a field jacket no less, walked by and spit on me.”   Not unlike many he

served with, McPhillips hesitated to go to the VA. But then he started having heart issues. “At one point my doctor asked, ‘Weren’t you in Vietnam? You maybe want to go out to the VA and

talk to those people,’ he said.  And it was the best move I ever made.”  McPhillips and Lovnaria talked the whole flight. McPhillips shared stories about surgeries he had at the Minneapolis

VA. With each surgical tale, another example of the amazing care he had received.   At 3,500 thousand feet, Lovnaria learned what type of patient McPhillips was and how his body responded to

anesthesia.  Once the plane landed, parting pleasantries began and a Lovnaria said to him “remember these eyes.”     The next day, at the Minneapolis VA, Lovnaria looked at the surgery

schedules and saw ‘McPhillips’ on Thursday. He requested to be assigned to his surgery. He let the surgeon know they had a very special patient on the schedule and shared the story of their

meeting. “No way! What are the chances,” the surgeon said. Lovnaria shared some details he learned about how John handled anesthesia with the anesthesiologist which helped inform their plans

for this care.   Thursday morning, dressed in a mask and scrub cap Lovnaria popped into McPhillips room before surgery, and he remembered those eyes. “It was like a reunion,” McPhillips

said.   And after surgery, those familiar eyes were back checking on him. “As many times as I’ve been here, this is really kind of special to have this connection,” McPhillips said to him.

   Even though she sat seats away from the pair on the plane, it was special for Vicky too.  “Anesthesia has always been a thing of mine. Whenever I’ve had my own surgeries I kind of freak

out about it.” Looking at Lovnaria she said. “Knowing you on the plane and this morning seeing you there again, it really warmed my heart and makes me want to almost cry because you said I’m

going to take care of him. It was a gift to me, and I want to thank you.”  Lovnaria asked McPhillips if he could sum up his care this time in three words. “Couldn’t – be – better,” said

McPhillips.  “And I mean that.”   National CRNA week, Jan. 19-25, is our opportunity to recognize those, like Lovnaria, who deliver exceptional care. The Minneapolis VA has 32 CRNAs on our

team who administer anesthetics to our Veteran patients during their most vulnerable moments.