We met DeLisa our first day at the hospital, the moment she began the care of B, I felt as he did; we could trust no harm would come to his health as long as she was there. If I went home I knew I could count on DeLisa taking as good of care of B as I would.
She looked after him like a Mother Hen, if I didn't know better, I would have sworn he was her child. She fussed over us like we were her own. B had entered the hospital in congestive heart failure and I didn't realize the severity of the situation until it was all over. B had been in the hospital twice in his entire life, once for a urinary tract infection, and then for spinal stenosis surgery. He was recovering from the back surgery when the congestive heart failure appeared. He had open heart surgery and seemed to be doing well, but then things started going awry. He kept losing weight, couldn't swallow and made numerous trips to the hospital, each for a different complication After emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix, he developed A-fib, had a stroke and waited for me to come home from work to find him.
After his death, I found a DAISY Award nomination that B had asked me to complete for DeLisa. I recalled all the time and love that DeLisa and her staff had put into our lives. The times we had wonderful, positive, conversations. The look of love when she spoke with us and the admiration we shared for each other. We felt like he was her only patient, even though we knew she cared for others equally well. How can you ever access how much healing goes into a person by the care they are given, I don't know. What I do know is the only way I can ever thank DeLisa and her staff is by praying that she will be recognized with the DAISY Award, which she most certainly deserves more than anyone I know.