We have no idea how this stranger found the number to our unit, but he called, and he was connected to Holly RN on the other end of the line. The man was actively suicidal. When Holly asked him about his plan, he told her that he was currently driving around and was going to cause an accident and wreck his vehicle. She told us later that he had asked her, “Do you have time to talk to me? Or do you need to let me go?” From that moment on, the man on the other end of the line was Holly’s entire focus. Using therapeutic communication, she spent several minutes talking to this father of two children, listening with her heart, asking questions, and slowly gaining his trust enough to learn what kind of vehicle he was driving and his exact location. Although I only heard her side of the conversation, I could tell that Holly was responding to this man’s anguished statements with genuine, compassionate reassurance. She acknowledged his feelings multiple times throughout their conversation and supported him in that very moment when he needed a lifeline more than he had ever needed it before.

After learning his location and earning his trust, Holly was finally able to convince him to drive to the nearest Commuicare facility. She told him that they, too, would understand what he was going through and could help him. Holly made sure the man remained focused on their conversation as he drove to Communicare. She made him describe the things he saw as he was driving past them, and she continued to give him directions and encourage him through his emotional distress.

During this part of their conversation. Holly passed his details to another LifeSpring nurse, who called ahead to Communicare to tell them what to expect. When the man arrived at Communicare, Holly told him to continue his call for help by going inside to talk to the evaluator but not to hang up on her. When she knew the man was inside the building, Holly told him to tell the evaluator that he was in a crisis and that this was an emergency. “I want to hear you say it,” Holly told him. And he said it, “I’m in a crisis and this is an emergency.”

Once she heard the evaluator’s voice, Holly reminded the man to have hope, and she thanked him for reaching out to us. After she hung up the phone, she looked over at us. On her face, I saw both accomplishment and a deep sadness that could only come from a genuine empathy for a stranger in the depths of despair.

Holly’s immediate understanding of the situation she found herself in when she answered the phone just a few minutes earlier, her proven therapeutic rapport with someone she had never met, and her effective use of her earned authority over the situation all wove themselves neatly together into the safety net that this man so desperately needed. For this experience, for this man’s life and for his two children, I would like to nominate this exceptional nurse, Holly Sparrow, for the DAISY Award.