Our critical care nurse, Juan Carlos Reyes, and I say our critical care nurse because he was not only our brother’s nurse, but we felt like he was ours too. Our brother E passed away at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills—one of the hardest days of my life. Juan Carlos was his nurse for the last three days of my brother’s life, and throughout our visits with our brother, Juan Carlos had a way of easing our concerns, fears, and grief. No, Juan Carlos did not save my brother‘s life, as many nurses may have the opportunity to do so in these types of situations, but he provided the calmness necessary for us to deal with what was happening to our dear brother.

My brother had many nurses throughout his more than three-week hospital stay at both Kaiser and another hospital, but none of the nurses compared to the compassion that Juan Carlos exhibited. At some point during my brother’s stay, we were aware that our brother would not survive, knowing that was extremely difficult and sad. And yet, somehow, I knew that if my brother had to pass, I wanted it to happen while Juan Carlos was there.

Juan Carlos showed compassion and respect for my brother. He did not treat him like someone that he was just providing nursing care to, but he would talk to my brother and let him know what he was going to do, as I believe that our brother could still understand what was going on around him. There was something that I cannot describe that was so comforting about the way Juan Carlos took care of our brother and our family while we were there. I consider Juan Carlos, an angel who was brought to take care of our brother and our family during the last days of my brother’s life on this earth. Family members of patients in the critical care unit can often overwhelm staff with questions and requests, but Juan Carlos never made us feel that we were asking for too much. Juan Carlos demonstrated all the Kaiser Nursing values, including professionalism, patient care, compassion, teamwork, excellence, and integrity. Kaiser and its members are so blessed to have someone as caring as Juan Carlos.

Note: This is Juan Carlos's 2nd DAISY Award!