In life there are people we cross paths with that will change our lives forever. One of those people for me has been Becky Willits. From the moment I started on the unit, she has been somewhat of an unofficial mentor. She's taken me under her wing and encouraged me to become part of the OR pool when I was scared to even step foot into the OR, talked me through stressful situations, and always comes to the bedside when I need her to. When I first expressed interest in the OR after joining the OR team, she invited me to lunch, on her one day off that week, and told me all about the OR- what to expect, what all I could do to grow in my role, and roles I could obtain later on. She didn't have to take time out of her day to do any of this but she did to help foster my love of the OR for which I am forever grateful as it is now one of my favorite parts of my job.

Additionally, we have recently lost a large number of nurses and have felt the effects from that almost every shift. Becky is never afraid to speak up for staff (and the patients) when needed and when patient care becomes compromised due to staffing concerns. She is the first person to help out anytime something happens on the floor whether it be big or small. She is always checking in on staff and is an amazing resource. She truly goes above and beyond for 9th staff and patients. I could write 25 paragraphs on other examples of how Becky exemplifies every core value of not only nursing, but Sanford's core values, but if I did that we would be here for 3 days.

Perhaps the biggest impact has been very recently during a traumatic even with a poor outcome. I'd like to share a little so that you can see exactly what I see every day and why we are all so lucky to have her as a part of our team, and why I'm so lucky and honored to get to call her not only a coworker but also a friend and mentor. On a day we were particularly short-staffed I inherited a Code -C (emergency c-section) as both the patient nurse and the circulator while also having another assignment and thankfully since it was such an emergency, lots of my fellow nurses joined me in the OR.

Although we all did everything we could that particular day, the baby did not survive and shared a story very similar to how Becky lost her niece just a short while ago. While I know that brought back some awful memories for her, she went out of her way to make sure I was doing OK. On a day when everything went so incredibly wrong, Becky made everything better. Her insight because of the situation with her niece allowed me to provide the best possible care for my patient and for that I will be eternally grateful. Becky could tell I was really struggling and got a group of people together outside work just to get together to support each other. She reached out every day after work, and multiple times at work, to make sure I was still doing OK. I can honestly say that was it not for her I would not have been able to come back to work. She is exactly what I envision a nurse to look like and can only hope to be more like her. Truly one of the best nurses I've ever had the privilege of working with in my 12 years in healthcare. In a world where you can be anything, be like Becky.

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