Kathleen is a wonderful nurse. She has excellent assessment skills and works well as part of a team. I have long admired her commitment to "cleaning up her patients"- giving them a bath, washing their hair, helping them to get up and go and to feel as normal as possible as soon as possible.

Last week the there was a 6 year old girl on the trauma service after a motor vehicle crash who captured everyone's heart. Both of her parents died in the crash and she sustained a spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia. When I went in to assist with removal of her central line, the patient's grandfather was raving about the kindness and compassion of those caring for his granddaughter. When I asked him if anyone in particular stood out, he raved about Kathleen, and how she stood at his granddaughter's bed for quite a while, balancing a pan of water. When I asked him to write something for me, this is what he had to say:

"Everyone has been wonderful through this very tragic time in our lives. It is wonderful to see such compassion and care by all those who have a hand in my granddaughter's care. Kathleen spent more than an hour working on the knots in her hair, taking special care not to hurt her. Then the following day she stopped on the way to work and picked up supplies to finish the job and make it easier on her. It is great to see people that really care about what they do."

I asked our patient what she thought about Kathleen and she said "she's nice". I believe Kathleen bought barrettes I'm not sure what else. This vignette is a perfect example of Kathleen doing "the super-human work of nurses every day" and I believe exemplifies her worthiness for the DAISY Award.