I've thought a lot about this nomination since the DAISY Awards were announced a few months ago. I come back to the thought of who stands out in our community of amazing nurses, and it can be a difficult choice. BCH has so many thoughtful, kind, caring, compassionate nurses that should get this award. However, there is truly one nurse here that has changed the course of my life, Heather Wright.
It has taken me a while to nominate her as the narrative is so dense, I wasn't sure where to start. There is so much to say over so many years. Heather is not a wound care nurse (I wish she were) and it doesn't matter. She is as dedicated to the wound care department as if it were her own home unit of 3East. She is a mother hen, doing her best to protect all of her chicks, even those who are "different" than the others.
For those of you who don't know me, I am quite an expressive/fiery person. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. The good, the bad, and the ugly. For any manager, I am a handful. Around 2015/16 the inpatient wound care department went through a staffing crisis. I spent the better part of a year walking into Heather's office crying almost every day that I worked. I had to buy waterproof mascara as I could no longer wear regular mascara, I cried so often. I was frustrated, overworked, exhausted, stressed, and overall at the end of my rope. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I also had cancer. Many of those hard days I considered leaving BCH. Many of those days I wondered how and why I didn't leave. But I knew why. Heather was always there. She was there every single day with an open door, an open mind, and more patience and understanding than I thought possible in a person, let alone a manager. A manager with a thousand other "to do's" on her list, but who always had time for me. Because of her, every day I would leave her office, and vow to give it "one more day, one more week"... until finally one day things began to improve!
Then, in mid-2018 I was diagnosed with cancer and started treatment. The treatments have, as expected, had their side effects. There are days that I'm not feeling well, fatigued, nauseous, or otherwise ill. My memory has also been affected and it can be difficult for me to accomplish all of my tasks, let alone remember what they were. I have let balls drop. Still, Heather is there. Supporting me, helping me and always coming up with solutions. She is there, supportive, engaged, empathetic, and all the time setting the most amazing example of what a leader can and should be. She truly is the most amazing nurse and most amazing nurse manager I have ever had the pleasure to know.
I have been working on this submission for months because I really want to make sure I represent how amazing she is. I have finally decided that no matter how many words I add it will never encompass everything that Heather is or does. I know that I am not alone in feeling that she is really one of a kind. She is really amazing. Thank you, Heather.