I am writing to nominate Marilou RN from the ICU for The DAISY Award. It has taken me a year to feel ready to write this award recommendation. You see a day in October started out seeming like it would be a better day for my brother-in-law. He was in the hospital for Covid pneumonia and had been on Medical Oncology but was transferred to the ICU on this day. My sister was grateful that he was being transferred as she was hoping that he would get more monitoring than she felt he was getting on the regular medical floor. Little did she know that he was close to coding that day and had agreed to be intubated and this was why he was transferred.

The day nurse at this time was great about keeping my sister informed as to what was happening with her husband in the ICU but it would be Marilou who made the difference for my sister when things took a turn for the worse that night. The doctor called my sister around 7:45 pm explained that she felt as though M was dying and that she needed to come in right then and see him. My sister had not seen her husband since the Saturday prior when he was admitted. You can imagine her shock at this news and she came right in. Marilou was the nurse on duty that night and she ushered my sister right into the room with M so that she could touch and see him. Unfortunately, he was intubated and she fears that he never knew she was present but Marilou was so good to my sister to let her know that even though patients are intubated they can still hear. She allowed my sister time to be with her husband. She allowed my sister to go into the room (of course in full PPE) and be able to touch him and love on him. We were asked to wait outside the ICU as this was the rule at that time. Anytime there was even the slightest change with my brother-in-law, Marilou was calling my sister and informing her. When it began to look like there was no hope for M, Marilou came and got my sister and allowed her to be with him as he took his last breath and passed from this world and into the waiting arms of Jesus.

Marilou never left my sister's side. She showed love to my sister, prayed with my sister, and shed tears with my sister during this time. She was able to keep my sister informed of everything they were trying to do to save M and put it into terms my sister could understand. I felt that not only did Marilou take care of my brother-in-law that night but she also showed compassion and empathy to my sister when she needed it the most and took care of her when she so desperately needed it. I have such respect for Marilou and all the ICU nurses as they have seen just how devastating this virus has been and they still keep on and not only take care of the patients but take care of the families as well. I certainly hope that other families have felt this kind of love and compassion from their nurses that we felt from Marilou.

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