I would like to nominate Ms. Jennifer Singel for the DAISY Award. One day, our world came crashing down around us as our infant daughter's health went from bad to worse. She was suddenly on a ventilator, had chest tubes, and was being moved from Intermediate Care to the PICU. That night was a whirlwind. And when the morning shift took over, Jennifer walked into our lives. Our daughter was in bad shape and would continue to get worse throughout the day until finally she would be put that evening on VV ECMO Life Support. Jennifer was there for US - not just for our daughter. That day was so emotionally trying. Friends and church family were visiting in waves, and we were exhausted. Jennifer recognized that. And at one point, she asked me a question that literally broke me down in tears. She asked me if I wanted her to make the visitors stay away. She told me that the staff could help us - protect us - from all the well-meaning friends, and allow us time to rest. I remember being so tired and not knowing how to tell people to just go away, and there was a nurse who cared - not only about our daughter's health and wellbeing but also for my husband and me. She held me as I hugged her and cried, and then notified the front and allowed us to rest.
Then day after day, Jennifer was our daughter's nurse. She became family. Eventually, she had some days off, and while our daughter had wonderful care, we were so excited when Jennifer came back on shift. Because she truly became part of our family. She cared for our daughter as though she were her very own. She continued to care for us, too - making sure to remind us to eat meals, and to take breaks to walk outside. Our daughter ended up being in the PICU for several weeks, but even after she was moved back to IMC, Jennifer was able to be her nurse a couple of times. And she has continued to keep up with her even after her release to come home. She checks with me to see how she is doing and loved getting to see her when we went up for a random visit and she happened to be working.
To me, there are lots of good and even lots of great nurses at CHOSA. But Jennifer went miles beyond "good" and "great" to be simply amazing! Her care for our whole family (including our older kids when they would come up to visit and she was always friendly and happy to see them and so welcoming; and also our parents and my sister in law) was simply incredible. She never once complained about her job and often talked about why she loves it. And I feel so honored that our daughter inspired her to extend her training to include being an ECMO specialist. The fact that she obviously learns from her patients and wants to extend her learning in her field is stellar, and I believe she deserves commendations for her obvious dedication to her patients, their families, and to her career. She is a fabulous representation of what it means to be a PICU nurse at CHOSA, and I wish her only the best in all of her future endeavors.