Through the eyes of a student and the eyes of a nurse working alongside her, Kathy is not only one of the most compassionate nurses you will ever meet, but she is one of the noblest and most professional persons you will ever know. I can still remember being a scared nursing student in such a high-profile unit. I remember her being so well put together, her promptness, her eagerness, and her insane drive and willingness to serve people. She was a little intimidating to a nursing student, but she still had such a welcoming disposition. When you asked her a question you would get a well-thought-out and explained answer and it's still that way to this day.

I can remember Kathy asking me questions to help me engage and think as well. I remember her explaining an EKG top to bottom and making it as simple as possible for a student to understand on a hectic day in her unit with her glasses on the tip of her nose and her eyes looking directly into mine and I'm thinking the whole time, "my goodness, she thinks I'm stupid." Although, this was not the case.

Fast forward to hiring on at Conway Regional working in adjacent departments, with sometimes some animosity towards each other thinking they get the royal treatment next door. But, after all, they are the queens and kings of the hospital and most of them have the right. They have pushed to time clock far longer than most of us. They have been far more dedicated for much longer to Conway Regional than any of us. I can remember a time when there was a patient in CCU that needed a procedure, and the doctor told the patient they would be moved to CVICU that afternoon. He said to the patient, "it's like moving from Bee Branch to Morrilton...it's just a grade up." That really irritated me, although I knew deep down he was telling the truth. But, because I am not good at keeping my mouth shut, I uttered back to him, "personally, I'd rather live in Bee Branch." Truthfully it was a grade up because in that unit are some of the best nurses in our facility and this year, in particular, has shown how wonderful they all are.

There were times I was pulled to CVICU and worked alongside Kathy. I can tell you that she has a very systematic approach to nursing and caring for her patients. I can remember multiple times her massaging her patient's back with lotion and her daily ritual. Also, if the draw sheet got crinkled a little bit beneath you and you had a few lines in your back you would get a back scratch upon turning as another daily ritual. I think that's why she likes the cloth bed pads. I remember these things and these things are not uncommon. These are things she does every day that she steps foot into Conway Regional.

It isn't just one particular occurrence, it's the way she cares for people day in and day out. She keeps her patients in pristine condition for the twelve plus hours she works. Their room is picked up, everything is working properly, and as I said, her patients are pristine. She has so much integrity to always do the right thing. She is the best patient advocate and she has such a humble heart that she doesn't even believe how wonderful she truly is.

I can only skim the surface of what nurses that she has worked with longer can tell you. Working beside her it's easy to feel like you will never measure up to her status. She never sits down, other than to eat, and half the time she stands doing that. Another nurse and I were just talking about her and the work orders she puts in. If something isn't working properly, especially in her beehive, she wants it fixed yesterday. Patience would not be her strong suit and if you don't make it in time never doubt that she will "jimmy rig" the heck out of something and it will function and soon serve its purpose to the utmost. Overall she is just a rock star and one of the biggest assets to the Conway Regional team, and each life that she touches.

This year has proved what I rock star Kathy truly is. Recently, I worked with her in her home unit and it was expressed to me how hard this year has been on her. She told me "I'm used to caring for hearts. My patients live and I've had so much death occur this year that it has had a strong effect on me. I have had only two patients that I've cared for with Covid survive." Then she proceeded to tell me with tears in her eyes that "I'm affected by it so much that if I don't keep busy on my days off, I see their faces." I immediately wrapped my arms around her and felt her pain and my tears rolled, too. We had a moment. This has been so hard on so many Covid nurses. After thirty-plus years of specializing in a certain nursing area and then having to flip to three different units, caring for not only Covid patients, but many other different patient diagnoses has been hard on the fixer that she is. But every patient and family that she has impacted, no matter the outcome, without a doubt has had the most desirable nursing care that Conway Regional has to offer. Kathy is a DAISY every day that she walks through those double doors, regardless of which of the three units she's working that day.