Jonathan Daigneau, ASN, RN

I would like to nominate Jon for a DAISY Award for many reasons, but I first need to apologize sincerely as this is long overdue. Unfortunately, my health has hit a few more snags after being discharged. Although way too many days have passed since I had the pleasure of meeting Nurse Jon, I can honestly say that he has had a profound effect on me and I feel blessed to have crossed his path. I only hope that my words can do justice for the impact that he had on me, not only as a patient, but as a registered nurse as well.

My very first interaction with Jon came when I arrived to my room after nearly 24 hours in the Emergency Room. I was drained from lack of sleep, I was overwhelmed with my diagnosis, and I was sad knowing my Thanksgiving would be spent in the hospital, away from the extended family Thanksgiving that I had hosted for as long as I could remember.

In walked Jon with the biggest and brightest smile. A smile that made the room suddenly feel less small, less dark and so much less lonely. He introduced himself and being the professional that he is, he did his assessment, while at the same time, he made me feel welcome and safe, and being an RN myself, he very clearly made me see that I was in quite competent hands.

As a young RN, early into his career, he made quite an impression on me with his knowledge, professionalism and his empathy. As someone who has been a nurse since 1996 and unfortunately a frequent patient since 2011, I have seen the profession of nursing from both sides of the fence. Jon was the nurse that I hope that I had been for all of the many patients I had had throughout the years.

I felt cared for and cared about, while in very capable hands for the 3 days he was my nurse. Even on the days I was not one of his assigned patients, he always managed to stop in and say hello. He never made me feel like a burden but rather he made me feel like a priority, as I'm sure he made all his patients feel that way as well.

Not only is he an excellent nurse in regards to his skills, he is also compassionate, kind, caring and always found the time to go above and beyond.

As I mentioned, I am a nurse and unfortunately life has thrown me way too many punches, forcing me to deal with cancer and at the time of my discharge, what has been 5 different life altering auto immune diseases, with one more finding it's way to me a few months after being discharged, bringing it to a total of 6.

While dealing with all these health issues, I had to take a very long break from nursing, 13 years to be exact and it broke me. It was all I ever wanted to do, it was all I ever wanted to be, because I truly wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, I wanted to help those that needed me.

I was finally able to return to my career in nursing when I was struck down again and that's when I met Nurse Jon. Jon took the time to get to know me not just as a patient, but as a person and as a nurse. He was not only an excellent nurse in a clinical definition, he was so much more.

I truly tried to put a smile on my face whenever anyone entered my hospital room. I knew how busy the nurses were "I got it" because I had lived it, I didn't want to make their days any harder. Even though inside I was filled with sadness and anger because I had just began working again as a nurse after 13 long years, when I was struck down again with another new illness that put me back in the hospital.

But I tried to pretend that I was doing fine and that I was okay, that I didn't really need anything. But Jon saw through my smiles, through my "I'm fine". He listened not only to my words, but he saw through them, He encouraged me and convinced me that it was okay to sometimes be "the patient" and to need things and that I deserved to feel whatever it was I was feeling without hiding behind a wall that I'd slowly build over the past 13 years.

He knew I was scared, he knew I was tired of being sick, he knew I needed to talk. Jon spent time providing the care that I needed as a patient. He always followed through on his words and his commitments when we talked about what would help me feel better.

He made sure all the doctors orders were followed and if I needed something that was not on the original orders, he saw that my doctors were made aware. But Jon also did something equally as important, he tended to my emotional needs.

He knew that there was such a big part of me that was so tired of being sick and he knew that I was afraid of this newest health scare and what it meant for my future. He knew that I missed being a nurse taking care of my patients but he taught me that at that time I needed to hand over the reins and just BE the patient and let others take care of me.

I have had many wonderful nurses take care of me over the last decade, but to me Jon was the perfect definition of what a nurse should be.

He took the time to talk to me, to ask me questions when he knew I needed to talk. He let me share what I've been through. He asked about my career and what kind of positions I've held as a nurse. He asked me what I needed and what was important to me.

He saw through my smiles and he knew that sometimes when I said I was okay, I really wasn't and when I wasn't, he worked on turning that around for me.

I will forever be grateful for the amazing doctors and nurses who took care of me there when I was diagnosed with my newest and very scary diagnosis. The truth is I'd been through so much, but during that stay, I was truly more overwhelmed than I have ever been.

With the help of my doctors, Jon carried out their orders and helped me to get my health headed back in the right direction. For those reasons again, I am extremely grateful for the doctors and nurses at Penn Presbyterian and forever will be.

However, I feel the need to single out Jon for seeing "through" my smiles and knowing that medicine can make you feel better, but sometimes a patient needs more.

He knew I was scared, he knew I was overwhelmed and he knew I needed something to raise my spirits. My nurse Jon not only took great care of my needs as a patient and made me so proud to say that we share the same profession, but he also took care of my heart as well.

He gave me a reason to smile. Jon surprised me with a dozen long stemmed red roses one very early morning while I was a patient there. What a difference he made in my stay in the hospital.

Those roses gave me a little more "pep in my step". He knew that sometimes healthy doesn't only mean physically, he knew that it meant sometimes your heart and soul needed a boost.

Along with what I (and everyone who entered my room) thought were the most beautiful roses I'd ever seen, he gifted me with a card that was so sincere and inspirational and truly touching, it will forever be a memory embedded in my heart.

Thank you Jon for being the truest definition of a nurse. For someone so early in his career to be able to provide such complete care and compassion, I can only imagine where you will go from here.

One thing is for sure, I know that any patient will be blessed to have your name on their white board.