For several years I have listened to the story behind the DAISY Award at each nomination ceremony. Now I'm a mother expressing her gratitude to the nurses caring for her son. To be honest, it didn't make much of an impact on me until the week after Memorial weekend, and it was my son lying in a hospital bed. Then suddenly her reality became mine - and I understood her with gratitude.
You never stop being a mom, and when your child's care is someone else's hands it's almost as if they stand in your place providing the care you can't. This event was particularly painful as I couldn't be there with him because of COVID and was forced to rely solely on the nurses to be my eyes, my ears, and my heart to him. And our nurses did not fail me.
To say it was excruciating to not be able to be there, see him face-to-face, hear what the doctors were saying to him, or watch the care provided would be an understatement. I cried so many tears of fear and heartache not being able to be there at his side. Not to mention how many times my heart would drop as I would hear the code alarm go off overhead.
My son was in their care for over a week. And while he is technically a man, he was still my little boy, and he was a very, very, sick boy. At no time when I called to get an update did I ever feel like I was a burden or keeping the team from their work. Everyone was always kind, gracious, and understanding. There are several nurses who took care of my son. They all gave him great care, but it was Carol who had him the longest. And it was Carol who was his mother when I could not be.
For a couple of days, my son was not well at all and things were very concerning. Carol would be the reassuring voice on the other side of the phone telling me he's getting good care, he's showing improvement. And while she only said it a couple of times, she would end our calls with, "Just keep praying," those words were God's message of hope to me that he had the right people caring for him.
It was at the end of her last shift with my son, I know for sure she did 4 12-hour shifts, if not 5, back to back, I could hear the fatigue in her voice, and yet I could still hear her smile and positivity. Again, reassuring me that he was getting better, looking better, and acting like he felt better. Her reassurance was one of the things that kept me positive that all would be ok.
I asked my son after he was finally released to go home about his care... he said it was exceptional. I asked about Carol, he smiled and said, "She was like a mother-hen. Especially the day I was struggling to breathe, she was running back and forth. She was doing everything to keep me calm."
Thank you, Carol, for being my son's mom when I couldn't and taking such great care of him.