This past year, my mother's health had been spiraling downhill. Within the past 9 months she had been admitted to GAMC four times for reasons including a heart attack resulting in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting. The surgery itself put a strain on my mother's already failing kidneys; eventually being the culprit of our last visit to GAMC. While her kidneys gave up, we had to deal with the harsh reality that my mother would need dialysis for the rest of her life. Lucy was our nurse the day my mother received her very first dialysis treatment. She made certain that my mother was calm, comfortable, and informed. The amount of attention and care that Lucy gave my mom was unlike any other I'd observed before. She would visit my mother frequently, always explained her medication list, always was gentle and careful when approaching my mother, and always gave my mother the attention she needed in order for her stay at GAMC to be comfortable and therapeutic. Lucy went above and beyond her expectations as a nurse and proved herself to be a genuinely kind and remarkable woman. I'd been familiarized with many staff members from CICU, SICU, CITU, and PTU, and can confidently say that no one has shown more compassion and care than Lucy has.

It is easy to sometimes look past all the effort nurses put into the care of each and every one of their patients. I'm glad nurses who show outstanding effort and skill can be recognized through the DAISY Award, and I think there is no one more worthy of receiving the award than Lucy. Thank you.