"Laughter is the best medicine" should be the motto that Cara lives by. There is no doubt that Cara is an excellent nurse. She is very thorough and knowledgable about the care she gives to her patients. However, the most outstanding quality about Cara is her positive attitude and sense of humor. In situations that are intense and stressful, I feel that a little levity goes a long way to help the patient and family heal and recover. Whether intentional or not, Cara always seems to strike the perfect balance of true concern and light heartedness. While my daughter was being treated for heart failure and post cardiac transplant our days were filled with concern, fear, stress, and disappointments. On many of those days, Cara's expert care led to early diagnosis of serious setbacks like dehydration and withdrawals. On days when these setbacks occur, and families are discouraged, it has been a relief to have Cara's warm compassion and humor to give you a much needed laugh.

Excellence in nursing is more than performing your job well, it goes deeper than that. When you combine technical proficiency with compassion and love, that's when nursing becomes excellent. When you can make a parent's day in the CVICU enjoyable, you have exceeded excellence. For these reasons and many more, Cara Ralls is most deserving of the DAISY Award.