My daughter is a 46-year-old woman who lives at home with her mother and me due to a number of congenital disabilities. She was admitted to the hospital (ICU) after a visit to the OSF ER following an episode of A-Fib. Because she was understandably frightened by her condition and the resultant planned and unfamiliar TEE/cardioversion procedure, I elected to stay with her in the ICU room for the length of her stay.

My daughter was blessed to have excellent, caring nurses and CNAs visit her room from Wednesday evening through her Friday early evening dismissal. They were stellar, affording my daughter as much comfort, attention, and care as possible. They deftly minimized the discomfort of injections to her abdomen and cheerfully escorted my daughter and her IV from the bed to the bathroom and back almost hourly, among many other inconveniences that come with virtually any hospital stay. A particular highlight of the first two days with those three professionals over the holiday was when L graciously offered to share some homemade turkey dinner with my daughter that she had brought in for her fellow nurses and healthcare practitioners on Thursday. All three were delightful professionals who demonstrated a level of care she nor I had ever previously experienced in a hospital setting. However, one nurse, Shealee, stood out even more than the three wonderful nurses mentioned above.

Shealee is remarkably intelligent, responsive, and wonderfully empathetic. Starting very early in the morning on Friday, the day of my daughter's procedures and last day at the hospital, Shealee provided effective, kind, and unselfish care. She took the time to explain patiently and thoughtfully many of the procedures she was to undergo, assuring her and helping her to be more comfortable in what was a very scary situation. Shealee was also my daughter's advocate and professional guardian in a busy time and place, made even more busy and confusing by the stream of doctors in and out of her room discussing changes to the medications she was to take once at home. We were both confused and so thankful that Shealee effectively interpreted and clarified the medication plan with her creation of a straightforward take-home spreadsheet detailing the prescription-taking schedule.

However, perhaps even more important to our experience was Shealee's caring nature. She really connected with my daughter on a personal level, including sharing some of her own family background, which was wonderfully endearing to us. The heartfelt warmth Shealee spread over my daughter that day was not only palpable but was a special kind of magic...salving the discomfort of staying in a hospital bed facing unfamiliar and literally heart-stopping events and possible outcomes. My daughter's recuperation from the procedures and her at-home convalescence had been made better by Shealee's involvement and investment in her care that day. It also made our experience at OSF recognized and acknowledged. It is for that reason that I (with my daughter's full endorsement) commend and nominate Shealee for a DAISY Award honoree consideration. OSF is lucky to have such a professional in its midst. And we were lucky to be under Shealee's wonderful care.