After a car accident left me with four pelvic fractures I was unable to do most things on my own, from combing my hair to holding a cup of water to walking. When I first met Meghan, I was screaming in pain; it was the day after the accident and everything was still tender. Rather than being flustered with me, she calmed me down and told me exactly what was going to happen and what she needed me to do. She was always transparent, telling me that this injection would sting or that pill would take a little while to work. This was the most important thing to me as a twenty year old, needing someone to help you in the bathroom and help you into bed and see all these vulnerable parts of you is exactly like losing your freedom. But with Meghan, she treated me like a human and maintained my dignity through it all.

Some nurses see you as a body to sponge-bathe or butt to wipe an objectified part disconnected from the whole of the patient. Meghan never held that damaging attitude; she sees the entirety of the patient and respects their worth. Meghan sees her patients in their varying states of vulnerability like me, a frequently- sobbing girl who tries to make dumb jokes and is afraid of the Lovenox belly injections and decides still that her injured patients are still worth the respect they deserve in their healthy state.

Few words can describe the necessity of a quality nurse; she/he must be a doctor, a caretaker, a confidante, a friend. All of them encompass the genuine desire to help that I witnessed in Meghan every time she responded to one of my nurse call buttons. I highly recommend her for the DAISY award, as she has fulfilled beyond what is required for an enthusiastic, empathetic, knowledgeable nurse.