Caregivers in the pediatric ICU are familiar with end-of-life care and, I believe, they give high quality, loving, and compassionate end-of-life care. But today, Amanda went above and beyond in her display of care and compassion for her patient and their family. It is our usual practice to take the patient's footprints and handprints and make a certificate as well as a plaster cast of them. But Amanda, in between her usual patient care duties, took the time to paint her patient's footprints on a canvas and then use more paints to transform the footprints into fairytale princesses. The canvas is truly beautiful and it represents the kind of care Amanda gives her patients and their families regularly. End-of-life is a time fraught with pain and sorrow and difficulty for families and patient caregivers alike. The fact that Amanda took the extra effort to make such a beautiful tribute to her patient is a testament to her character and caliber as a person as well as a nurse. This gift, though small, will be beloved by her patient's family forever and will be a boon to them during this very difficult time. The DAISY Award is about providing excellent clinical care with loving-kindness and great compassion. Amanda has exemplified this in her care for this patient and their family.
Amanda, thank you for sharing your many gifts with us at Wolfson. Congratulations, you make us proud!