Sarah Aiello
April 2025
Sarah
Aiello
,
RN
Medical Surgical - Teays Valley
Charleston Area Medical Center - Teays Valley Hospital
Charleston
,
WV
United States
Not only did Sarah make my patient's day, but she originally had planned on doing it quietly and without fanfare.
Sarah went above and beyond for a patient no longer under her care. She had waited outside of an ICU room for me in street attire to see if it was okay for her to visit another one of my patients for just a minute. The patient she was asking about had their curtain and door closed. I told her it was fine, that I just kept her curtain closed and the door closed for privacy. As Sarah was leaving our unit, I stopped her and asked her who the patient was to her because I was curious. This patient had the family call and ask about her, but they lived far away, and no one visits her normally. I assumed she was visiting a neighbor or family member. My patient was a younger woman who was battling breast cancer. She told me that she just had a small gift to give the patient and that she had taken care of her on the floor. I discovered from the patient later that she had had a conversation prior to transferring to the unit with Sarah about not being able to obtain a hairpiece that looked remotely realistic and expressed sadness over this. When I entered my patient’s room shortly after the nurse left, my patient smiled from ear to ear. Although she was not wearing her newly gifted hairpiece to not mess it up before discharge, she enjoyed showing the hairpiece off to me and her tools and enjoyed explaining the process of putting it on. It was a beautiful hairpiece! Not only did Sarah make my patient's day, but she originally had planned on doing it quietly and without fanfare. The fact that my patient touched her heart enough to give her such a thoughtful gift that no amount of money was worth to my patient or that she was planning on doing so quietly without trying to get recognition for her kindness. I'm glad I was curious enough to ask. This nurse's act of kindness is exactly what the DAISY Award should be about.