A registered nurse who works at Memorial Hospital in South Bend was surprised with the Hero Award Wednesday morning during the Nurse's Fair in honor of Nurse's Appreciation Week.

Pete Gaffney was given the award by Jim McKinnies for his work with terminal patients.

Gaffney treated McKinnies' uncle before he passed away.

"I'm not doing it because I won an award for it, I want to do it because I hope that someday that's how I would be treated if I were ever on the patient or family member side of things," Gaffney said.

Gaffney says he enjoys helping people when they're going through a difficult time.