It was at least 10 years ago that my Uncle (my mom's youngest brother) told us at a family gathering that he believed his life had been saved by a nurse. He had cellulitis in his arm for quite some time and had become septic. One of the NPs in ID had finally gotten cultures and prescribed him antibiotics that he wasn't resistant to; so he finally started getting better. He called her his angel and is sure she is the only reason he is alive. He talks about this from time to time and at most Thanksgivings; it was an ordinary part of my life.

Fast forward to January of this year when I transferred service lines and started working in Orthopedics. On my interview, I met a ton of people one of whom was Shannon. She made me feel like part of the team in an instant and told me how much she likes celebrating holidays and all of life's special moments with the team she works with. She was kind, warm, and clearly a natural leader.

I soon learned she was the APP lead. Shannon is the mother hen to many. She is always the one to organize a birthday party, a potluck, a wedding, or a baby shower. When there's a party, Shannon is in charge. She makes everything special for every one of us. She is infinitely loving.

A member of the support staff reports: “Shannon is always going above and beyond for all of us and the patients. Especially after Hurricane Ida, Shannon saw every single post-op patient for the entire department including a patient from one of our sister clinics. She also brought all of the staff lunch and snacks those days. We had one provider in clinic immediately post Ida, and it was Shannon. She volunteered and told her team not to worry.”

One of her colleagues shared: “I have known Shannon for the past 14 years. She was my go-to person when working in Hospital Medicine and she was in ID. She has a positive aura about her that is somewhat contagious. She always looks for ways to better our department and our team of APPs. When needed to step up to help the organization she is first in line. She is a true asset to the nursing profession. Her patients love her; she finds ways to make them feel like family. I have a patient that needed a wheelchair. She happened to have one at home she could give the patient to use as a loaner, and she did just that. It is not every day you find someone like this in the medical field.”

Shannon was deployed early on during COVID; as lead, she didn't have to be; but she volunteered to go. Her medicine and ID experience made her an immense and valuable asset to the ICU. She answered the call to serve patients without a second thought. She did the same when the 4th surge came around working nights and weekends and still keeping her commitment to her clinic patients. She worked through Ida. I have never heard her utter an unkind word. She gives every person the benefit of the doubt. She does not do any of the things she does for praise or recognition. She is merely a genuinely good human who came into the nursing profession for the right reason; she wants to help others heal.

It was a couple of months after joining Ortho that I made the connection that Shannon was the life-saving angel that changed my Uncle's life. I told her the story he frequently tells, and she said his name to me. She knew exactly who I was referring to; she called him by name and told me anecdotal stories about him. How refreshing that he meant something to Shannon as well! In a time where many greats are leaving the profession altogether, I am grateful that Shannon loves what she does and is here for the collective good of Ochsner patients and staff alike. Thank you, Shannon, for being such a beautiful example to me and for saving my beloved uncle; my momma's baby brother is likely here today because of you.