An elderly gentleman was admitted to the Emergency Department complaining of difficulty with breathing. He was immediately assessed by Rebecca "Reba" Wright who identified a rapidly deteriorating condition with decreasing heart rate and respiratory rate. After an hour of rapid treatment, Reba asked me to assist as we repositioned the patient. We noted that his heart rate and respiratory rate were rapidly deteriorating. He had come to us from a local nursing home. His resuscitation status had not been written, however, family members arrived and confirmed that he should be permitted to die with dignity. Reba urged that we stay with him, holding his hands and reassuring him that he was not alone. We provided comfort measures, bathing, warm blankets and continuous presence at his bedside. He passed away shortly. Our patient's daughter arrived and expressed her gratitude at the manner in which her father had been treated.

Reba's compassion and understanding for her patient's final moments almost brought me to tears that day. It was my first experience of actually watching a patient take his final breaths and I was a bit taken aback by it all. Reba makes her patients feel at home, relaxed and special, like they are her only concern even though we both faced a busy day ahead of us. I have worked with Reba for quite some time and this one incident is just a drop in the bucket of what she consistently does for her patients. Reba always has a contagious smile on her face and deserves recognition as a DAISY Award Honoree.