I attended a DAISY Award celebration and was taken back by the respect, passion, and awe in what nursing does. As I listened to the details of why this person was honored, I said to myself, I need to nominate Allyson because she has made such a difference to me and my family. I hope every night that I get Allyson back because she is what a DAISY Nurse is. I learned that DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System and that's me Leukemia Attacking my Immune System.
Devoted/Dedication to nursing and her patients. I know first-hand how Allyson impacted my care. I watch everyone because my life depends on it. I'm a very sick man who requires a lot of attention due to the multiple antibiotics, antifungals, and antiviral medications along with blood and platelets, and don't forget the side effects of all this. Allyson's dedication to her patients is stellar, I know first-hand because when she is with me it's all about me. She does not answer her phone, she even makes phone calls to the doctors in the room so I can hear the conversation she is having with the doctors. She does not stop until she is happy and understands what and why the doctors are telling her. She made sure I understood why the doctors are ordering certain tests. She collaborated with the lab for me so I could sleep an extra half an hour, this means so much to me, because they take my vital signs every four hours or more so I don't get meaningful sleep. When I rang my call bell she was always there within a minute, that says so much.
Attacking-I felt this because Allyson is a small person with the voice of a lion, I got to hear her roar many times. I'm a complex patient because my disease will not go away and everyone is trying to make it go away. There was one time when the doctors would not return her call and when they did she politely said she has been trying to reach them to inform them that I had yet another fever. Allyson does not know this but I laid in bed with a huge smile and laughed to myself and thought of Simba from the Lion King. She was watching over me to make sure I had everything I needed for the night. I can see her standing on the rock overseeing her patients to make sure they are safe, happy, and well taken care of.
Immune System-That's funny because I have not had an immune system for months. Allyson's attention to detail when it came to my central line, hand hygiene, bathroom habits, and water intake was over the top. She would clean my bedside table, pick up my room all the time talking about the risks of infections, and how the simplest infections can kill people. I loved watching Allyson change tubing on my central line. Her system was soooooo detail-focused, I knew I was in the right hands. I'm a very detail focused person and I appreciated her style. She would remove everything and I think she even washed down the pumps, then added only what was needed. I had green caps everywhere. I feel if she could, she would have put a green cap on me! She knew what an infection would do to me.
Allyson is one compassionate professional nurse who stands out to me and I'm sure her other patients. I've been here for five months off and on. I've not been home consistently with my wife and two kids for months and its people like Allyson who make the difference in our lives. My wife and I talked about Allyson because our daughter said she wants to be a nurse to take care of sick people like me and we hope she's just like Allyson. Her compassion, dedication to nursing care is over the top, the way she advocates for me to the doctors is like Margaret Houlihan (Hot Lips) on M.A.S.H, she's direct, firm, but gets her point across and will not give up a bone until she is happy with the final result. She does it so compassionately. She is sooooooooo sweet but has a kick of a horse. I was so fortunate to have Allyson as a nurse and I know she will be recognized because after reading the pamphlet, it says Allyson all over it. She has made such a difference not only in my life but my family as well. My kids ask me every night before they go to bed (we FaceTime), "Dad who's your nurse tonight" and we talk about them all but when I say Allyson, they tell me, Dad you'll have a great night, Allyson is there, and don't forget to tell her we said HI.
One thing I learned about Allyson is that she has not been a nurse long, from a patient's voice you would think she has been doing this job for years. Allyson is seamless, confident and full of love for her patients, nursing and her peers, I felt that and just wanted to say the BIGGEST Thank You how you touched not only my life but my family's lives as well. We will never forget you.