I want to tell you a story that has been stuck in my mind and I am unable forget it. During my 19 years of nursing career, I have not seen anything like it. We had a 4-year-old pediatric patient on our unit named R. R was diagnosed with Epidermolysis Bullosa and had a tracheostomy as well. Registered Nurse (RN) Snezana is one of the nurses who looked after him during his hospitalization.

R’s mother was unable to be with him, so the family organized for a private carer to stay with him during his hospital stay. Due to his condition, R was unable to speak, but Snezana found a way to communicate with him even though Arabic is not her first language. 

R would ask Snezana to call his mother. She would use her phone to video call R’s mum to provide health updates and to let R see his mum. 

One day, Snezana discovered that R was hungry because the carer was not feeding the patient. She discovered that the carer was discarding the food delivered for the patient into the bin. 

Snezana informed the nurse in-charge and the mother, and took it upon herself to ensure the child was fed.  She took R to the garden every day she was on duty until the day he was discharged from the hospital. 

Two weeks after discharge, R’s mother sent the following messages to Snezana:
“How are you? May god reward you with the best reward and all the nurses for what you have done for R. You have a beautiful, tender, and kind heart. R loves you so much. Thank you. Thank you for the moment you spent with R with love and care. You always made him happy. 

I don’t know how to tell you the news. Today at 4 pm, R died. I was hoping to give you good news about R, but thank God anyway. Pray for me and my family to be patient.”

Snezana is a DAISY Nurse because she has demonstrated her empathetic, gentle, and compassionate nature.