On Wednesday, my husband had a bad headache. I was out of town when he called to tell me that the headache had turned to nausea and vomiting. On Thursday, he went to the Community Hospital Upstate location to go to the ER. He was admitted and within hours, rushed to the Upstate main campus ER via ambulance. He was told they found bleeding on his CT. At this time, my husband was in and out of consciousness. I started my 7-hour drive home and arrived at 10:45 pm to find my husband on the Neuro floor in a room connected to nothing. He was just there in a bed, barely able to talk to me. The resident came in to tell me they found a tumor on his brain, and he was hemorrhaging. This was causing his "sleepiness" they said, and the severe headache. I stayed awake with my husband all night, worrying no one was checking him, and knowing something was wrong. He seemed to be getting worse. At 6:00 am on Friday, the resident came in to do rounds. At that time, I told him, my husband had been wetting himself as I could not get the urinal close to him. He was completely incoherent, and I was worried he was getting worse. The resident stated it may be time for the neurology ICU. Within minutes, he was being moved.

This was the step that changed our lives. The speed in which he moved to the ICU was amazing to me. They had him moved, put on IVs, and ran a CT all in what seemed like minutes. The team there, which included our nurse Jennifer, was amazing! She completely took charge and began to tell me what I had not heard all night. My husband was quite sick. She could see the exhaustion on my face and was patient and explained all that was going on. She told me the meds they ordered and explained what they were for. She told me, in terms I understood, what was going on with my husband’s tumor. I was completely overwhelmed, and Jen must have seen it in my face. She closed the curtain and held both my hands in hers. She said your husband has a brain tumor, and it is bleeding, causing his current state. She recognized I was going to break and offered a shoulder for me to let it out- and let it out I did! I cried in her arms for what seemed like forever. Then, just like that, she said I needed to listen and be strong. She encouraged me to advocate for my husband and ask questions. During this time, I was also struggling with telling our two daughters, ages 20 and 31, what was happening. She again, held my hands, and told me to call them and get them there to see their dad. She was going to advocate for his surgery to be moved up to later that afternoon. (Initially, we were told he would have surgery the following day) and advocate she did! She was noticing a decline with my husband that others were not. She called the resident and explained what she saw. She pushed for them to move the surgery up based on her experience and what she was witnessing. Because of that, my husband was taken to the OR for his craniotomy at 1:00 pm that same day.

Jennifer was my angel. She made decisions she saw I could not make to get my girls there. She was there for them when they arrived and supported them as she did me. That decision was the first big thing she did, but certainly not the last. She was truly my rock. And because of Jen's experience as a Neuro ICU nurse, she advocated and even "pushed" for my husband’s surgery to move up. So, how does all this make Jen special? Well, my husband has grade 4 Glioblastoma and is currently in treatment. I am sure he is here with us today doing as well as he is because of Jen, and her observant nursing and years of experience that nothing can replace. She saw I needed a "mom's advice" when talking to my girls and helped me make that important call. She stood with me, holding my hand when I needed to break. She remained calm and steady as she knew that was what I needed. And most of all, she cared for my husband as if he were her family. She comforted him and allowed my girls in when the ICU rules were no more than two people. She knew we needed each other at this time.

I work at another local hospital in administration. I see nurses and doctors every day. I know going above and beyond when I see it. Jen Tyner deserves this DAISY Award and more. I wish I could hug her now and thank her for being there for me. I will never forget her and will forever attribute my husband’s post-op success to her keen observation and patient advocacy. She saw a decline and acted on it. I can only hope I get to meet Jen again one day to tell her in person what impact she made on my family's life during such a scary time.