I took care of a patient that Lorie had prior to his transfer to my unit. He told me the story of how she saved his life, and this should not go unrecognized. He was ready to be discharged, papers in hand, with his wife en route to the pharmacy to pick up his meds when he mentioned a slight chest pain/discomfort for the last month. He said - quote, "She plucked the discharge papers from my hand, did a STAT EKG, called all sorts of doctors, and the next thing I know, my discharge was canceled, and I was getting all sorts of tests."
He admitted that he could have been a little bit nicer, but that she never stopped working hard for him. Results: occlusion of the LAD. He went to the cath lab, received a stent, and was transferred to MICU thereafter. He must have said it a thousand times, "That lady saved my life. I'm 41 years old, and I'd be dead if it wasn't for her. She should be recognized."
I gave him the DAISY nomination form, but he was too emotional to fill it out, so I offered to help. I am embarrassed to say that we nurses often rely on others - patients or family - to say thank you or great job, and we should do this more often. For this reason, I want to recognize Lorie.