This nurse took care of my parents' cuts, scrapes, contusions, and pressure sores. She taught us how to take blood pressure readings, oxygen readings, and she trained me, their daughter, to be an ace at taking care of the wounds when she wasn’t there. Under this nurse’s guidance, I was never afraid, and more importantly, my parents were never afraid. A visit from this nurse always brightened my dad’s day. Now, my dad may have been old (90s), but he was still doing the crosswords every day. When you are older and with it, the days in assisted living can seem a bit humdrum. A visit from this nurse was like a ray of sunshine coming in; the visit not only ensured that he would soon be feeling better, but that he had someone else to talk to about sports and what was going on in the world.

My Mom, a woman who had run and played tennis her whole life, and still walked a quarter of a mile a day after having Parkinson’s for 15+ years, had dealt with pressure sores on and off for years. Nurse Kristi diligently came and kept those sores small until they healed. Unfortunately, for my mom, one of her sores became much larger while she was trying to recover from a broken femur, and she found herself bed-bound and dependent on everyone for everything. Complete devastation and humiliation. This nurse came in and treated her like “old” mom, not “sick” mom. While she tended to my mom’s sore, she talked about all the things “old” mom would have and took my mom’s mind away from sickness and illness for a short time. This nurse went on to save my mom’s life.

You see, she knew my mom, and she knew that morning when she was struggling to get her words out, that there was something going on. She took a long, hard look at that horrible pressure sore and knew my mom might be septic. She sent my mom off to the hospital, where her blood pressure dropped into the 40s, and she ended up needing antibiotics for a good long stretch. It was scary and horrible, and each day, during all the weeks she was in the hospital, both my mom and I wished she could have this nurse by her side. Well, you know where this story is headed. Within one week, my dad had bad luck and died suddenly, and my mom ended up on hospice and lost her fight with the horrible bed sore.

This nurse’s forethought, attention to detail, compassion, kindness, and good old-fashioned care not only saved my mom’s life that one day in November, but she also improved both my parents' lives on a regular basis for years. As my dad liked to say when this nurse would be leaving and the door closing, “You’re the best, babe.” When I think of this nurse, I am reminded of a well-known Booker T. Washington quote: “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”

It is my honor to present this DAISY Award to Kristine Moran.