Nikki is the consummate nurse, always going above and beyond her duty with grace and laughter. She absorbs her patients' habits and preferences and does her best to cater to them - like putting a towel by the sink in the morning because she knows I like to dunk my head in cold water. She is timely with medications, she is encouraging at meals, she is kind, she is smart, and she is strong. She had a sense of humor! She is a DAISY Nurse for so many things great and small that she does for her patients, but one specific situation comes strongly to mind when I think of Nikki's excellence.
I suffer from chronic pain. This condition is one that comes with terrible spikes of pain that leave me beyond distraught, usually sobbing and tense with anxiety ramping up to extreme levels. Nikki was my nurse when I had one of those spikes. Nikki stayed with me for the duration, talking soothingly and coaxing me to breathe deeply and unclench my muscles, reminding me that tensing only increases the pain. She helped to diminish the anxiety and the pain of that episode until my pain medication, at last, began to work.
With Nikki, I felt calmer and stronger. She is the one who got me through that spike in one piece. I will always remember her generosity and warm compassion.