Today was a scary day. We learned my 38-year-old husband would be needing open-heart surgery. He went in for a heart Cath and Nurse Iffy was so supportive, attentive, and comforting during the entire recovery process. She answered questions and offered reassurance. Honestly, everyone we encountered was so welcoming and helpful. However, Nurse Iffy really touched my heart and made this experience more bearable. It is obvious that her gift is a connection with people. I’m glad she was on our team today.

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My husband had a heart cath. It was scheduled for noon but there was a couple of emergencies that day which pushed him back a few hours. The staff kept apologizing for the delay and we said we were perfectly fine with it. We said if someone is in an emergent situation, we want the doctor to do all he can for that patient.

We had several nurses throughout because of the emergency situations and everyone was top-notch. It got to be somewhere around 5 p.m. and the nurse that came into the room was Iffy. She was just someone that you are drawn too and she stood and talked to us for quite a while. She asked about his heart journey that has spanned over 26 years and listened intently as we both told her about our experiences with it. She kept patting his foot and making us feel calm about this next procedure he was having done.

After a little bit, we mentioned that our daughter had had a heart cath a few weeks before. She said, "Oh my goodness what is her name?" When we told her she lit up with such excitement and said, "I took care of her. She nominated me for the DAISY Award and wrote the sweetest things about me and it touched me deeply. I will never forget her kind words."

Well, that exchange sealed our bond with her even more. We are a very close-knit family and knowing this sweet soul took care of our daughter, who inherited her Dad's heart issues, made us both so happy. Iffy is one of a kind in our books and the world is a better place especially Jewish Hospital for being blessed with her. I hope she is recognized for her hard work, kind heart, and beautiful spirit.

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I had contact with several nurses during my time in the cath lab but Iffy really stood out. She was amazing at her job. She was extremely kind, professional, and also personable. She was always busy but never seemed rushed while in the room with me. Iffy took the time to explain everything I should do to care for my insertion points once I was at home. She went over what to do in case I got home and started to bleed. Making sure my husband and I fully understood what could be handled by us and when to seek emergency help. She never left the room without asking if she could do anything else for us or if we had any questions about what she just told us.

While she was very thorough with the medical side of things, she was also very sweet with me. Every time she was in my room, she patted my shoulder or touched my foot as she left. I never felt like a burden when I needed her assistance even though I'm sure she had 100 other things going on at the same time. Iffy even took time to tell my husband to leave the room about 15 minutes before I would be discharged because we were leaving during a busy time for traffic. She wanted him to know it would take a while to get out of the parking garage. This is not something in my opinion that any nurse would even bring up to a patient or their family.

Iffy is an amazing nurse, person, and a great asset to the hospital. She truly made a situation that gave me a lot of anxiety a pleasant experience. The cath lab was not a place I wanted to spend the day and the procedure itself was not a good experience. However, Iffy's care helped me be at ease while being prepped and in the recovery portion of it all. She is an incredible nurse.