I would like to nominate Rania “Ray” Carvalho for the DAISY Award!! She went above and beyond being a surgical post op nurse. I wish there were more people like her in the world. I will give you a quick back story on how my daughter, S, and I met Ray.

Early Tuesday morning at about 2 am, my daughter woke up with severe pain in her left side. She said there was something definitely wrong and needed to go to the hospital. I rushed her to the ER at Emerson Hospital, where they did a bunch of bloodwork and tests to determine what was going on with her. It was determined that she had an ovarian torsion and an ovarian cyst that was 12 pounds that needed to be removed surgically. Emerson told us the cyst was huge and they could not perform the operation, so she was being transferred to B&W for emergency surgery. They told us this at about 1 pm. She was going to be admitted through the surgical dept and she was going by ambulance. She arrived at B&W at around 5:30 p.m. S was on the pre-op side of the surgical unit. The nurse she had said they were going to move her over to the post-op side because the pre-op side closes at 7. The nurse she had before Ray was very nice too. She spoke very highly of the doctor, who did my daughter's surgery. She also spoke very highly of Ray, saying you will love her to, she is awesome. Let me tell you that the nurse who spoke very highly of both the doctor and Ray was not lying and it was very nice to hear one of their colleagues speak so lovingly, positively, adoring, and favorably about them. They are two awesome people that go above and beyond.

S was transferred to the post-op unit at 7 pm, and that's where we met Rania. She introduced herself, but she is called Ray. She was a Godsend not only to me but to my daughter. She understood the long day I was having, and we did not know when it was going to end, meaning when S was going to have surgery. I told her about my very long day that started at 2am and everything that my daughter went through. S could not get comfortable. She was in excruciating pain when the medications wore off. I was mentally and physically drained by witnessing my daughter go through this. It happened a few times in the course of the day, but the nurses were very quick to give her medications to stop the pain. It was heartbreaking to watch. On a scale from 1 to 10, she was 100. It was very nice to have Ray listen with an empathetic ear. I mentioned to her that I was a diabetic and had not eaten since about 1 pm this afternoon. I told her I did not want to leave my daughter so I could be there when the doctors came in about the surgery, but I needed food. There was an open spot next to S's bed. Ray said, "I will take care of you. I will get you food, and a reclining chair with some blankets so you can rest." I was very surprised and astonished that Ray went out of her way to get me a reclining chair with blankets. I sat in the next bay next to my daughter. She brought it over, and then she got me food. She pulled the curtains so my daughter and I could have privacy and darkness. I was very grateful and thankful that she did this all for me. She even gave me the TV remote and headphones so I could listen and watch the TV and not bother my daughter.

At about 9pm the surgeons came in and were talking to my daughter and me about everything that was going to occur. It was funny because the surgeon thought I was another patient and not her mother because of how well Ray set me up and took care of me. They said S should be going into surgery very soon. At this point, I said to Ray, that I am planning on going home to sleep in my own bed, take my medications that I have not taken at all today, and then pack and come back tomorrow when she was in her room. I have nowhere to stay right now, and I have nothing we both need. I feel very comfortable and at peace leaving here, knowing that you will be here to take care of her. Ray also said that she would be with her after the surgery as her post-op nurse. I felt very relieved to know this. I told the doctor that I was leaving as soon as she went in. He told me that he would text me after the surgery and that he would see me the next day. Before I left, she wrote down her name and phone number and the unit’s name and phone number on a card. I left around 10 pm. I have a fear of elevators. I do not go in them. Ray went out of her way to walk me to the lobby where my car was. That was very nice. I arrived at my house around 12am. At this point, I received a text from the doctor saying all went well. I woke up, and there was a text from Ray saying that S was doing well and was in her room.

Wednesday afternoon, I reached out to Ray, and we texted back and forth about S and how she was doing. Ray deserves this award because the amount of empathy, care, compassion, resourcefulness, and ways to make people feel at peace is priceless. I could totally trust her to leave my daughter in her care. She is an excellent nurse who cares for not only her patients but their families, too. Ray was a lifesaver and a breath of fresh air when I had a very long, exhausting day. She alleviated a lot of fear and worry about leaving my daughter. She is definitely one of a kind who made my life a lot easier and peaceful that night. My daughter and I will always be grateful and thankful for what she did for us. Ray not only took excellent care of me but took excellent care of S, who was the patient. Thank you very much for having Ray working there.