We Karlee Guerrero for a DAISY award for the care, compassion, and patience she has had in taking care of her patient. He is a 24-year-old with CNS lymphoma. He was working and independent before he came to IU University Hospital with new onset vision loss due to the progression of his cancer. Shortly after his admission, he was intubated and critically ill for over 50 days.

When he woke up, not only was he completely blind but also newly completely deaf, profoundly weak and unable to lift his arms or his legs, and had difficulty talking due to a trach. With the help of speech, physical and occupational therapy we developed a way to communicate with family and caregivers using a letter board. The process can be quite time-consuming at times due to his new vision and hearing deficits and despite education, many caregivers would choose to forego communication.

Karlee has not only taken the time to use his letter board to communicate to him plans, medications, and how he is doing but her continued use has allowed her to help therapies future improve communication methods to make communication with him more efficient. Because of her help and input the patient is able to get more information about his care and day-to-day activities. Karlee also has been a strong advocate for him, making sure to take time out when he goes for tests or procedures to communicate to him what is going to happen.

Recently, he had to go for an MRI and was very scared, but Karlee's presence and willingness to take the time to communicate helped. Without her, he would have no idea what is happening. Karlee has also helped advocate for others to communicate with him by showing them the methods developed. Because of Karlee, his quality of life and care have improved immensely. Karlee has gone above and beyond for not just this patient, but all of the patients we have seen her interact with. She truly demonstrates the IU Health values of compassion, purpose, excellence, and teamwork. Thank you, Karlee!