I am submitting this DAISY Award nomination, two and a half years after our experience with her in the hospital and that is because she's left such a lasting memory. I know that my mom submitted a nomination at the time of our experience, but I am, again, reaching out to share our story and the impact Lindsay had on our family.

In 2021, my husband and daughter were in a plane accident. They were flying a commercial plane to Beaver Island, Michigan, and upon landing, the plane crashed. Everyone, the pilot and three passengers were killed, except for my 11-year-old daughter, L. L was transferred to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. That is where we met Lynsey, she was our first nurse and on for 4 or 5 days in a row. We spent the week bonding with her, not only was she an extremely skilled nurse but she was able to sit with us in our grief. She would enter a room and just sit. She bore witness to our pain, our sorrow, and our grief. It was such a relief to know that she was close. She bonded with L because she was present. She could have spent her time at the nurse’s station on her phone, but she spent her spare minutes with us. Most people in our grief-phobic society run from sad moments and want to get in and out of the room as quickly as possible. Not Lynsey. She sat with it. She was with us in our pain, and for that, we will never forget her.

She came in one day with a little poem she found for L. When L came in, her name was "Orchid." (She entered the first hospital alone without any ID.) Lynsey found a quote about how orchids grow in dark places, and it shifted my girl's mindset. It was extremely powerful for our family. We are and continue to be grateful to Lynsey and her ability to sit with hard things. To be an amazing nurse and to help us find our voice in our darkest moments. Thank you, Lindsay!

“Trauma is not what happens to us but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.” ~ Peter Levine

Note: This is Lynsey's 2nd DAISY Award!