So much is happening and there are so many emotions present during a hospital critical care "event," that it is not a priority to initially distinguish one nurse from another during a medical episode. As a result, when a critical care professional consistently stands out above others, that professional is truly deserving of special merit and recognition. This is truly the case with my nominee for a DAISY Award. We arrived at Prisma Hospital "hospital weary." As a brief overview, my husband, B, over a period of just a few months, had experienced several major medical events before this particular stay. The aftermath of a routine biopsy was a diagnosis of sepsis, which was very challenging to control. He was comatose within hours. He remained in Prisma Health Critical Care until, by trial and error, a combination of antibiotics was successfully administered. We were very pleased with the quality of care he received. Then, a study of body scan results related to the sepsis episode revealed a "suspicious mass" in one of my husband's kidneys. Surgery revealed that the kidney was cancerous and the entire kidney needed to be removed. Again, his care at Prisma Health was top-notch, and we were thankful for the diagnostics available at Prisma, as well as impressed with the highly skilled professionals at Prisma Hospital.

Then, most relevant to this nomination for the DAISY Award, in September 2024, it was determined that my husband needed immediate heart bypass surgery, including all four heart valves. At this point, he was depressed, afraid, and "hospital/doctor-weary." This is when we were blessed with this nurse. This nurse epitomizes a DAISY Nurse who is "beyond the ordinary." It was astonishing to watch her work. Everything about this nurse could be used as a training guide for the accomplished Critical Care nurse. When I first saw my husband post-surgery, he was a bundle of bandages, clamps, wires, and tubes. An alarm kept sounding- even after multiple adjustments. This nurse seemed to hardly need to "study" the conglomeration of wires before she skillfully and confidently worked to arrange the bundle into an orderly tapestry of essential, and quieter, lifelines. Whenever this nurse passed our room, she repeated this ritual, instinctively, automatically, and unobtrusively delivering optimal medical care. She was able to "diagnose" glitches and make adjustments in a variety of equipment that freed up space and organized areas so that there was optimal space for assisting and monitoring my husband, and so that I could stay in the Critical Care cubicle with him. And during this "storm" in my husband's physical body, we also endured an actual hurricane that ravaged the area around the Prisma Hospital in Greenville, SC. The hospital lost power only momentarily and was an essential and true "refuge" from the storm and outside destruction.

Perhaps my most heartfelt opinion of this nurse is that she is the nurse you'll always pray you'll get when a loved one's health is precarious and you need the VERY BEST AVAILABLE for the most optimal outcome. I saw her roles as leader, mentor, employee, colleague, mother, and wife as she briefly shared bits of information about her home, family, and their status after the hurricane. This nurse seemed indefatigable! She is the first person I have ever observed who had the same kind, attentive, consistently pleasant, and positive demeanor at the beginning of her lengthy shift through the end of it. We observed a sharp, profound intelligence in her, along with an ongoing commitment to service and excellence in performance. As a result, I recommend this nurse for the DAISY Award without any reservations. She has a humble "servant's heart," and it was difficult to say our "goodbyes." My family owes this nurse an immeasurable debt, and our family will continue to think of her with grateful hearts.