In May, a young woman who was like a little sister to me her entire life, was killed in a car wreck in Englewood at 20 years old and taken to MVH North.  It will go down as the worst day of everyone’s lives who knew her.  Her mother and sister (my best friend) were the first ones to the hospital, followed by other family and myself.  During what felt like an unreal, impossible time, they were cared for by Nurse Tara.  Immediately, through her tears, my best friend told me that their nurse was so great and I quickly saw for myself.  Tara was the real-life angel who walked alongside us that day, making that horrible situation easier in any way she could.  I have been an RN myself for over 7 years, so I know how hard this scenario was for Tara as well, yet she held us all up.  When nothing made sense, Tara helped it make sense.  When a room full of medical staff stared at my best friend and her mom telling them she didn’t survive the accident, Tara knew what to do.  When we were on our knees crying and confused, Tara was right there with us.  When M’s boyfriend had to drive 2.5 hours from college to make it there to say goodbye to her, Tara made sure it happened and made sure the coroner waited.  As we stood outside after praying in a circle, Tara ran out to the parking lot to make sure we knew that they were about to bring her out, knowing we didn’t want to see it, so that there was no risk of it happening.  One of the consistent things her family told me after that day was how grateful they were for Tara and how she is meant to be a nurse. I couldn’t agree more, so I made sure to write the DAISY Award nomination she so rightfully deserves from all of us.  She didn’t have to be everything she was that day, but she chose to be.  She was exactly what was needed in a time when we did not know what we needed at all.  

We are eternally grateful that Tara was on shift that day and that we were blessed with her nursing gift during that difficult time.  Our hearts will never fully heal from this day….but we will never forget the love that came from Tara’s heart.  She is the definition of a nurse and what the DAISY Award represents.  Tara will always be the single light we saw on that dark day, and we want nothing more than her above-and-beyond actions to be recognized for it.  From the bottom of our hearts….thank you, Tara, with love from a very appreciative family.

***

I am so excited to highlight this nurse leader for the wonderful support that she provides to our team.  This leader is always willing to respond and come forward with a calm demeanor to assist, direct, teach, or provide care, whatever the situation warrants.  We had two very traumatic events occur within the same day, and this leader was tremendous.

We had a code in the operating room that was unexpected, the OR team does not have these situations happen very often, and called the Emergency Department for help.  This leader responded quickly to assist the team with documentation and emotionally supported them through the process.  She stayed with the team and walked them through the process while the OR and PACU staff supported the family that was distraught. 

This leader went from this very stressful situation and supporting the OR/PACU team to receiving a call that we had a 20-year-old motor vehicle accident patient on their way in due to airway issues.  This patient did not survive the resuscitation attempts, which was devastating to our team.  The fact that this young lady was so early in her life and had lunch with her mom just a couple hours before, hit home with so many of us.  This nurse leader made a plan to support the family while they received this news and the hours after as they tried to cope with their new reality.  This nurse leader stayed with the family until they left that night, and her demeanor was always calm, reassuring and respectful.  I am so thankful for this leader and how she supported both teams through that day and did so with such tremendous grace.