I went through an extremely rough delivery with my son in June and Melissa helped immensely to make my experience better. When she started her first shift with me after hours of very slow induction medications and extremely painful exams, she saw how ragged I looked and immediately wanted to reset my hospital experience. She saw that my IV was swelling my hand, so she called the IV care team to find a new location for the catheter. She also helped me get a shower and pressed pause on the medication routine just long enough so I could have some real food for breakfast, all of which were desperately needed. During the full shift with me the first day, she checked on me more than regularly to ensure I was not in pain and kept me moving in bed even with an epidural, which I was so appreciative of. I was so excited to learn that she would be back again the following day and asked if she could take care of me again.

The second day that Melissa was my daytime nurse was when we realized late into her shift that I would have to have a c-section after four arduous and extremely painful days of trying for vaginal delivery. Melissa kept my spirits lifted that day despite the setbacks and explained thoroughly what would happen during the procedure after I developed a fever toward the end of her shift. My husband and I were visibly upset as the once far-off idea of having a c-section quickly became a reality. As I had never experienced any type of surgery before, we were both afraid of complications that could hurt me or our new son. Melissa saw this and TRULY went above and beyond by picking up a few extra hours after her shift ended to prepare me for the c-section and be with me in the operating room before, during, and after the procedure. Only once I was stable and back in bed late that night did she leave for the evening.

I never thought that her presence would mean so much, but both my husband and I felt so much better because we knew she was invested in my well-being. I never thought that one nurse could make such an outstanding positive impact on my hospital experience, but Melissa truly did, and I would love for her to be recognized with the DAISY Award to show our gratitude for being a guardian angel when we needed it most.