March 2026 Honoree
Estefania Portillo, RN
I am nominating Estefania for the DAISY Award following my thoracotomy and right lower lobectomy, one of the most physically and emotionally demanding experiences of my life.
From the moment Estefania became part of my care, she stood apart. In a unit where consistency was hard to come by, she was a constant. She was among the very few nurses who routinely asked about my pain levels, rounded on me proactively, and actively encouraged me to get up and move during the hardest stretch of my recovery—the immediate post-surgical period when I was on strong medication, and my body had just endured major trauma.
She answered my family's questions with patience and thoroughness, never making them feel like a burden, and accommodated them in a way that brought me genuine peace of mind when I had very little to spare.
What I want the people reading this nomination to truly understand, however, is what she did that went beyond clinical care.
This was not my first time in intensive care. In 2023, a similar and serious respiratory event left me in a coma, intubated, and fighting to survive. During that hospitalization, I was not allowed to see my young daughter because of her age. I carried that experience with me.
So when I came through this surgery and woke up in pain and disoriented, one of the first things anchoring me was the need to see my daughter, who is now seven years old.
Estefania didn't just understand that. She acted on it.
She personally offered to walk with me, not just around the ICU floor, but all the way to the main waiting area where my daughter was waiting. She patiently stayed with me while I sat with my daughter and helped her with her homework. She never rushed me. She gave me the opportunity to be a father in that moment, not just a patient.
I cannot fully put into words what that meant.
There is something about seeing your child's face after major surgery—after the fear, the pain, and the blur of waking up—that reminds you exactly why you fight to get better and go home.
Estefania gave me that. She understood, without me having to explain it completely, that my recovery was not just physical. It was anchored to my family. She made sure I could reach them.
From the moment Estefania became part of my care, she stood apart. In a unit where consistency was hard to come by, she was a constant. She was among the very few nurses who routinely asked about my pain levels, rounded on me proactively, and actively encouraged me to get up and move during the hardest stretch of my recovery—the immediate post-surgical period when I was on strong medication, and my body had just endured major trauma.
She answered my family's questions with patience and thoroughness, never making them feel like a burden, and accommodated them in a way that brought me genuine peace of mind when I had very little to spare.
What I want the people reading this nomination to truly understand, however, is what she did that went beyond clinical care.
This was not my first time in intensive care. In 2023, a similar and serious respiratory event left me in a coma, intubated, and fighting to survive. During that hospitalization, I was not allowed to see my young daughter because of her age. I carried that experience with me.
So when I came through this surgery and woke up in pain and disoriented, one of the first things anchoring me was the need to see my daughter, who is now seven years old.
Estefania didn't just understand that. She acted on it.
She personally offered to walk with me, not just around the ICU floor, but all the way to the main waiting area where my daughter was waiting. She patiently stayed with me while I sat with my daughter and helped her with her homework. She never rushed me. She gave me the opportunity to be a father in that moment, not just a patient.
I cannot fully put into words what that meant.
There is something about seeing your child's face after major surgery—after the fear, the pain, and the blur of waking up—that reminds you exactly why you fight to get better and go home.
Estefania gave me that. She understood, without me having to explain it completely, that my recovery was not just physical. It was anchored to my family. She made sure I could reach them.
Thank you, Estefania, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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