April 2026 Honoree
Joanna Puglisi, RN II
My husband and I lost our 1-year-old daughter (A), who became critically ill in the blink of an eye. She had just celebrated her first birthday a week prior and was a previously very healthy, happy girl. We had no idea what was happening, why it was happening, and if she was going to survive.
As we sat and watched the entire team work on her and try to figure out what exactly was wrong with her, I was amazed at how incredibly they worked together in such organized chaos while trying to hold themselves together as they tried to save the life of our daughter. During this time, one person really stood out, and that is Joanna Puglisi. Joanna treated us like family and took care of our daughter as if she was her own. She is so natural in her career. She kept us informed every step of the way, and she never failed to check on me (as I was 20 weeks pregnant during the time).
At one point, Joanna didn’t even prioritize taking a lunch or break because she wanted to be by our daughter's side. I insisted that she go to take care of herself and eat some food. After getting news that our daughter had severe brain damage and was most likely going to be brain dead, I went numb. I couldn’t hear anything, see anything, feel anything. I was trying so hard to listen to the doctors, but I couldn’t keep myself together. Joanna helped explained things to me and helped me become distracted from the situation by having small talk just about life as we leaned next to A’s bed.
Every single time they had to take A out of the room for scans, Joanna went the extra step to make sure she was comfortable and warm when they had to set the machines and wires on her. She told me I could bring up pictures, cards, balloons … I could decorate A’s room any way I wanted to.
When A passed, Joanna was not working, and I could feel the void. I wanted to just give her the biggest hug in the world and thank her for taking such good care of our baby.
It has been over a year since we lost our baby, and I think of the difference Joanna made in our life every single day. Although our experience at the PICU resulted in tragedy, I will forever be grateful for the love and care we received from Joanna and the entire PICU team that cared for our baby girl A and gave her the strongest fighting chance she could have had.
As we sat and watched the entire team work on her and try to figure out what exactly was wrong with her, I was amazed at how incredibly they worked together in such organized chaos while trying to hold themselves together as they tried to save the life of our daughter. During this time, one person really stood out, and that is Joanna Puglisi. Joanna treated us like family and took care of our daughter as if she was her own. She is so natural in her career. She kept us informed every step of the way, and she never failed to check on me (as I was 20 weeks pregnant during the time).
At one point, Joanna didn’t even prioritize taking a lunch or break because she wanted to be by our daughter's side. I insisted that she go to take care of herself and eat some food. After getting news that our daughter had severe brain damage and was most likely going to be brain dead, I went numb. I couldn’t hear anything, see anything, feel anything. I was trying so hard to listen to the doctors, but I couldn’t keep myself together. Joanna helped explained things to me and helped me become distracted from the situation by having small talk just about life as we leaned next to A’s bed.
Every single time they had to take A out of the room for scans, Joanna went the extra step to make sure she was comfortable and warm when they had to set the machines and wires on her. She told me I could bring up pictures, cards, balloons … I could decorate A’s room any way I wanted to.
When A passed, Joanna was not working, and I could feel the void. I wanted to just give her the biggest hug in the world and thank her for taking such good care of our baby.
It has been over a year since we lost our baby, and I think of the difference Joanna made in our life every single day. Although our experience at the PICU resulted in tragedy, I will forever be grateful for the love and care we received from Joanna and the entire PICU team that cared for our baby girl A and gave her the strongest fighting chance she could have had.
Thank you, Joanna, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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