Even though our daughter had been suffering from depression/OCD, we had no idea that she would take an overdose. She ended up ventilated in the MICU. We, as parents, were severely traumatized by the events that led up to her admission. My husband actually did CPR on our daughter till EMS arrived (while my two sons watched in horror and grief--believing that she was not going to make it). It was in this state of mind that we visited with our daughter when she got to the MICU.

Kelly Blackburn was the admitting nurse that had our daughter that night. She was exactly what we needed. She showed us compassion and went way above and beyond to not only take care of our daughter's needs but to minister to us in our pain. Visiting hours were over when we arrived, and she let us linger while we talked with her. She was very informative and human in comforting us. She finally recommended to us that we should go home and rest because our daughter would remain unconscious but stable on the vent throughout the night. We were encouraged to call whenever we were up during the night to check on her. It was very difficult to go home that night, but she was very comforting and never seemed to mind when we called several times that night.

I can't say enough about how she treated us and showed she cared. It made that night a lot easier for us to know that Kelly was with her and would call us if anything changed at all. Our daughter has very long beautiful hair and presented to the MICU with it in a severely tangled mess. It was so tangled that it pained me to not brush it that night into some semblance of normal. It was seemingly impossible to deal with it while she remained in bed and without washing it with some conditioner. Despite this, when we arrived at the hospital the next morning, Kelly had done a remarkable job of getting some of the tangled hair combed and into a braid. This may not seem like a big deal to some people, but to me, it meant a lot to my mother's heart that she went through the effort that it must have taken to not only take care of our daughter's immediate medical needs but also to care for her hair and human needs. It showed she went above and beyond more than she had to do. It showed DAISY-like Extraordinary Care. Sometimes the little things like taking the time to braid and detangle hair, show so much evidence that people care and that it is more than just a job.

Kelly showed us both times that we had her as a nurse that her job is much more than a job to her, it is a calling. We proceeded on in our stay and had the privilege of having Kelly again for one of the other nights we were able to stay with our daughter. She continued to go above and beyond and treated us with respect and dignity which exceeded all the other staff that we met at Summit. We will never forget Kelly and her impact on us all. Sometimes God comforts us through other people. We feel she displayed God's love and comforted us throughout the shifts that she spent with us. She needs to be recognized for that. She was a gift to our broken family during a very dark and scary time for us and we can't thank her enough. Being a nurse myself, I can easily see and evaluate the dedication, effort, and heart that others put into their job. Kelly is one of the best!