I would like to tell you about my DAISY, Cosett Britton.

On the early morning of May 21, I was at work here at the hospital when I received a call that my brother-in-law was coming into the ED non-responsive. I rushed down to the ED and waited for him to arrive as the ED prepared the room for a full code. When he arrived, they began working on him and doing all they could to try to revive him. I just stood there watching and wondering if he would come back so that I could give my sister some good news.

What healthcare workers don’t realize during a code is that sometimes, there are family members standing by as they’re working and that they are confused about what is going on around them. That was my situation that day. Then, along came my DAISY, Cosett. She must have noticed the confusion in my face. She came over to me and held my hand. I asked her if she thought he had a chance of coming back. She told me that she would never lie to me or give me false hope and that he wasn’t going to make it. Her honesty in itself made me stronger and prepared me to be able to help the rest of my family through what the outcome would be.

My DAISY, Cosett, began explaining everything that was going on to me in layman’s terms so that I could understand, and before it was over, she said “OK, the Dr. is about to call it.” I took a deep breath and the Dr. called it. My DAISY wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. I don’t think I could have been strong enough to face my family and break the news to them without her help.

Cosett is my DAISY because so many times, the family members are left to fend for themselves until after the patient is gone, but she stood there with me and kept me from feeling all alone during what was a very difficult time. My family and I appreciate all she has done. She even stayed in touch with the family for weeks after it was over, just making sure that we were all ok.

Thank you for being such a great Nurse and friend.