Our daughter, B, is a special needs young lady, total care, nonverbal, and this was her first experience with an emergency crisis that required 911 and ICU care at Banner Del Webb, where she stayed for 15 days. This was also the first time our daughter has had care in an adult hospital, which was almost as terrifying as the event that landed her in the ICU. She just recently aged out of the local children's hospital, where she has gone since she was little, and where it was familiar, felt safe, and she had continuity of care. This was a scary time in a new place with our daughter, being made even worse by her needing to be intubated and put on a ventilator, as well as her seizures and heart rate being way out of control, but having this nurse by our side, going above and beyond the entire time, was very comforting. Even though she was quite busy with other patients, she made sure our daughter received the best care and attention to all the many details that have always made her care unique and quite challenging for healthcare providers over her 24 years of life. This nurse actually listened and took quick action, specifically regarding the very strict seizure medication schedule our daughter requires (not hospital timing of medications) and how much that was impacting her well-being as well as things that were triggering seizures in the ICU, and also her feeding issues. This nurse made sure those things were addressed, adjusted, and showed respect to us with anything we needed to be changed for our special needs daughter. She would not just say she was going to take care of something and get busy and forget about our daughter, she would take action and get it done right away, which lead to a positive outcome for our daughter. Also, any time a doctor would come to talk to us, this nurse made sure she was right there by our side so she could provide her input directly to the doctor, as well as get all the information from the doctor in order to help us should we have questions. She would also make suggestions in order to help us advocate for our daughter. She truly showed us she cared about our daughter and wanted the best for her to succeed in her healing journey. This nurse stood out among all of the wonderful nurses that cared for our daughter in the ICU. Her compassion, diligence, and dedication were greatly appreciated, and we will never forget her!!

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