Koryna Tirado
May 2022
Koryna
Tirado
,
RN
Intensive Care Unit
Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center
Hoffman Estates
,
IL
United States
I'll cherish that EKG readout forever, and will always be grateful for that and other examples of Koryna's compassion.
It isn't a semantic accident that the word "care" is seemingly built into the term Healthcare, and while that little four-letter noun certainly encompasses important clinical aspects of the medical profession, it also acknowledges the humanity of everyone concerned - the patient being cared for, their deeply affected loved ones, and those who give freely of all the human care at their disposal. The recipient of this month's DAISY Award, Koryna Tirado, R.N., embodies the concept of caregiving in every possible shade of it's meaning, and we honor her for it.
Koryna works in the Intensive Care Unit, and her nomination was submitted under circumstances of lingering sorrow. A male patient was terribly ill and beyond recovery. Breathing had become increasingly difficult, even with the assistance of a ventilator. A tracheostomy was considered, but it would only prolong the trauma of a struggle that had become pointless. Facing the most painful decision anyone can make, his wife simply broke down when she told Koryna she wished to have him taken off vent, and authorized the DNR order.
Before the patient was transferred from ICU to a hospice unit, Koryna enclosed a portion of his EKG printout in a sealed glass tube, and gave it to his wife. In a letter the woman prepared some time later, she had this to say: " Koryna was on duty his last two days in ICU, and out of her kindness and concern she also came to us after her shift ended once he was transferred to the 6th floor. I'll cherish that EKG readout forever, and will always be grateful for that and other examples of Koryna's compassion."
Small things mean a lot, just as a little four-letter noun like "care" can mean so much. Koryna knew it wasn't merely a scrap of paper in a glass vial she vouchsafed the patient's wife but an actual remembrance of her husband's beating heart. And even though she was aware any gesture could never seem adequate, Koryna also knew it was one which cried out to be made. And now we all know, and we're grateful not only for the knowledge but for a gesture she made on behalf of us all.
Koryna works in the Intensive Care Unit, and her nomination was submitted under circumstances of lingering sorrow. A male patient was terribly ill and beyond recovery. Breathing had become increasingly difficult, even with the assistance of a ventilator. A tracheostomy was considered, but it would only prolong the trauma of a struggle that had become pointless. Facing the most painful decision anyone can make, his wife simply broke down when she told Koryna she wished to have him taken off vent, and authorized the DNR order.
Before the patient was transferred from ICU to a hospice unit, Koryna enclosed a portion of his EKG printout in a sealed glass tube, and gave it to his wife. In a letter the woman prepared some time later, she had this to say: " Koryna was on duty his last two days in ICU, and out of her kindness and concern she also came to us after her shift ended once he was transferred to the 6th floor. I'll cherish that EKG readout forever, and will always be grateful for that and other examples of Koryna's compassion."
Small things mean a lot, just as a little four-letter noun like "care" can mean so much. Koryna knew it wasn't merely a scrap of paper in a glass vial she vouchsafed the patient's wife but an actual remembrance of her husband's beating heart. And even though she was aware any gesture could never seem adequate, Koryna also knew it was one which cried out to be made. And now we all know, and we're grateful not only for the knowledge but for a gesture she made on behalf of us all.