Norma was nominated by a colleague who wrote:
I nominate Norma J Hopper RN for the DAISY Award. Here is a brief story of her relationship and commitment to her patients.
Norma has been caring on and off for over a year for Ms. G with colon cancer. This woman was recently hospitalized with a small bowel obstruction. Her NG tube aspirate was copious and would clog the tube frequently causing great abdominal pain and anxiety to the patient. Norma took care of her both days of the weekend. She was hyper vigilant with the NG tube. She would be in the room flushing the tube frequently to prevent obstruction. She never made the patient feel that she was in a hurry. She always made this patient feel that she was the only one that Norma was caring for....the reality was, she had 5 other patients to care for as well with as much compassion and understanding as Ms. G. As usual, it was a very busy weekend.
When Sunday evening approached, Norma went and said good night to each of her patients as she always does at the end of her shift. She took extra time with Ms. G to assuage her fears and to reassure her that the night nurse would look after the NG tube with as much care as Norma did. When Norma clocked out that evening she was starting 2 weeks of vacation.
Ten minutes after Norma got home from work, the phone rang. It was Ms. G. calling Norma at home in a panic about her NG tube. Norma calmly reassured the patient that she would be well cared for by the night shift. She offered to speak to the assigned nurse who was in the patient's room about how to flush and manage the system. She spoke with the patient and the nurse for about 20 minutes. She told Ms. G. to call her again if she was afraid. No further calls came that night.
Monday came and Norma wondered what was happening to Ms. G. Technically she had started her vacation, but her mind and her heart were still at work. She was packing a suitcase for a trip to the East Coast when the home phone rang again and again it was the patient looking for reassurance. Without hesitation she listened to the patient's fears and calmly reassured her. She gave the patient her cell phone number and told her that she could call her anytime she needed to.
A few days later as Norma enjoyed time with her family at the New Jersey Shore, her cell phone rang. It was Ms. G's daughter to speak with Norma about how things were going with her mom. Norma never acted as though this was an imposition. She was glad to hear the update and to hear that there was improvement. Norma's greatest fear leaving the hospital on Sunday night was that this patient would die and Norma would not be there. This was her vacation.
I don't know of any nurse who gives a patient her home phone number or cell phone number. Norma kept in touch with the progress of this patient even when she was 3000 miles away enjoying a well earned vacation. This is way beyond the concept of duty in any profession, but in Norma's nursing practice, it is commonplace. She cares for her patients with her heart and soul. Sometimes it is too much to bear on one pair of shoulders, but she never complains about it. She faces the lives and deaths of these patients as though they were her family. She is an impressive role model to us all.