Thanks to a successful social media campaign , an Alabama man was reunited with a nurse who took care of him more than 40 years ago while he was recovering from open heart surgery . Gary Bentley was 10 in 1973 when he underwent surgery at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital to repair a hole in his left ventricle . Bentley recalled the nurse who cared for him could tell he 'needed a friend ' , but he had trouble remembering much else when he and his wife discovered her photo while they were going through old things in Killen , Alabama . Gary Bentley ( left ) was reunited with Nurse Kathy ( right ) a woman who took care of him when he was a boy . A social media campaign to find Nurse Kathy began after this photo was posted on Facebook by Bentley . After the meeting , Bentley wrote : 'She is still the same sweet Nurse Kathy I remember from years ago ' The photo showed Bentley as a boy posing next to a young nurse with brown hair . In the picture , he has a sullen expression on his face and a large scar running down his chest . When his wife Gwen asked him about the identity of the nurse , Bentley only could come up with the name Kathy , Al.com reported . They decided to try to locate her and posted the picture on both of their Facebook pages . Bentley said : 'For some reason , she was really sweet to me , and I looked forward to her coming in every day . ' I guess she just saw that I needed a friend . 'She took special interest in me for some reason . ' When they met , Bentley brought Nurse Kathy flowers and the framed photo of them both standing together . On Thursday , they got an email from Kathy 's daughter Heather . She wrote : ' I know the nurse in the picture and she is my mom . 'You are right , her name is Kathy ! ' I just read her this article and she is so touched that she was remembered so fondly by you ! '' It turns out Kathy is still a nurse and she works at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika . Another one of Kathy 's three children , Katie , wrote her mother had 'tears to her eyes ' while reading an article about Bentley 's search . Bentley and Nurse Kathy began communicating and arranged to meet on Sunday afternoon at Vulcan Park . He brought her flowers and the framed photo of them both standing together . Bentley and Nurse Kathy began communicating and arranged to meet on Sunday afternoon at Vulcan Park . After the meeting , Bentley wrote on Facebook : ' I was right ! 'She is still the same sweet Nurse Kathy I remember from years ago . 'Nurse Kathy and I both are so humbled by all of the kind words and the help from everyone so we could find each other . ' I can not describe my feelings . ‪ # ‎nursekathy‬ ' In addition to Nurse Kathy , Bentley was also aided by three foster families while he was growing up . Before he arrived on Sunday , Bentley posted about what he was going through on Facebook . He wrote : ' I 'm just sitting in the back seat riding along on a trip to meet my Nurse Kathy ! 'My son is driving and my mind is racing . ' I ca n't believe 42 years have gone by so fast , like a blink . My mind is running all over the place . ' I so hope this is a day that brings smiles to her face for many years to come . ' Bentley runs a turtle farm and calls himself the Alabama Turtle Farmer . In addition to Nurse Kathy , he was also aided by three foster families while growing up . He works as a motivational speaker when he is n't raising his turtles .
Nurse Kathy had open heart surgery at UAB Hospital in Alabama in 1973 . A photo of himself and a young nurse with brown hair recently surfaced . Was 10 at the time and could only remember a nurse named Kathy helping him . Thanks to a social media campaign , Bentley was reunited with Gary Bentley . Kathy still works as a nurse at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika .