After my mom’s triple bypass surgery, we had many amazing nurses who worked with her in the ICU at Aurora Medical Center. One, however, stood out from the rest, and that was Cheryl. Cheryl gave my mom amazing care, just like the rest of the ICU nurses, but she stood apart from the rest with how she connected with my mom and with our family. Cheryl went above and beyond her duties to lean into my mom to show her comfort and to get to know my mom as a person. She connected with her on a personal level which helped to calm her fears and the fears of our family. When Cheryl was working with my mom, I felt like she treated her, not just as a patient, but how she would have treated her own mother and family. We all came in scared and nervous, and Cheryl helped to calm our fears and make us feel like we were heard and seen, and cared for by family. Cheryl went beyond the requirements of the job and gave an extra level of care that got us through some of the worst and hardest days of my mom’s life. She brought smiles to our faces and calmed our fears, and allowed us to know that everything was going to be all right. She even stopped by to check on Mom when she wasn’t assigned as her nurse for the day. She is truly one of a kind and topped off the amazing team of nurses from my mom’s hospital stay! Thank you, Cheryl!!

Note: This is Cheryl's 2nd DAISY Award!