I have PTSD. Tammy speaks to me as a friend and a caring individual. Even though I am on fight or flight all the time, she brings me back, grounded. Amen for Tammy. My brother was 44 years old last week. He was alive. This week, he is gone, and we just had his funeral due to him having the delta strain of COVID-19. I could not remember my appointments with my mental Health team. I was lost because I was mourning and still am. Tammy called me and left me her own extension. I called. Every time I call Tammy, she takes the helm and drives the mental health ship for me. I admire her strength and how she is able to speak to my heart when my head is always somewhere else. She has helped me and guided me to see death in a different light and see my life as a different light as well rather than always dark. I am in no way able to function properly today, but tomorrow, maybe due to my best nurse, one of my best connections, and I have never met her face to face.

I am a United States Navy veteran, and I have seen what hell humans put each other through, but the kindness, light, and love for a stranger are thank God within Tammy Herndon. This world needs more nurses like Tammy; if not, there will be no guides for us who are lost in the sea. Thank you for this DAISY Award. Thank you for recognizing those we never met. Thank you, God, for making Tammy Herndon. She has been a lighthouse for me, an adrift sailor.