Vicky Wirtz was nominated for the DAISY Award by a former patient’s daughter. The daughter wrote, “My 94 year old mother was admitted with a broken vertebrae in her back, and the care she received was above and beyond my expectations. My mother was in excruciating pain and the family’s goal was to alleviate it as fast as possible. We were so fortunate to have Vicky as our nurse not only because she demonstrated exemplary skills at caring for our mother’s physical needs, but also because we found Vicky to also ‘nurse’ the family’s emotional well-being as well. It was THIS skill that deserves recognition.
At 94 years, our family always fears that a situation will be the beginning of the end for our mother. This is a realistic fear and no matter what people say, you are never prepared for it. With Vicky’s help we all left the hospital ‘healed’, physically and emotionally. Vicky made it possible for us to dare to hope for good things.
We all need more hope, more compassion, more grace and humanity in our lives. What if the entire world demonstrated her skills? What if one person could create such a positive butterfly effect? In our heart of hearts we believe that Vicky is just the person who could make all these things possible. We still dare to hope. Please recognize her for these skills as they are the yardstick to which all others should be measured. Anyone can put a band-aid on a boo-boo, but it takes a very special person to put a band-aid on a heart. Thank you.”