I had the privilege of meeting Lauren back in 2017. At that time, not only was I a nurse on the cardiology floor but I was also a family member of a patient that she was caring for. She was caring for my brother after an acute decompensation following cardiac surgery that resulted in him being placed on ECMO. I wish I could say that those 72 hours were a blur, but I still remember them quite vividly.

I was trying to wrap my head around just how bad the situation was and what decisions needed to be made. The staff rallied around me and my family and made sure we were equipped with all the necessary information to make the best decision for my brother. As a nurse, I feel like you get pretty good at reading other people’s faces to determine what they are thinking or even how bad a situation may be. I found myself looking at one face, in particular, Lauren’s. Unfortunately, she failed me there and was giving up zero hints as to what was going on. However, there was one specific thing I remember: her eyes. They weren’t filled with pity or sadness but instead, they were filled with kindness and compassion. I’m not entirely sure how to describe the feelings that I was having at that time. In these situations, as a family member, you are powerless. You must relinquish control and trust that these medical professionals are doing absolutely everything they can to support your family member. Sure, with my nursing background I was able to understand what was going on but, in that moment, when it is your sibling on the table and you must decide what quality of life is sustainable for them, you latch on to something or someone for strength. For me, that strength was Lauren. I didn’t know her. Our paths may have crossed prior to this day but I am not sure either one of us would have been able to recall when. All I knew at that time was I trusted her. She could have punched me in the face and told me it was to help maintain his blood pressures and I would have believed her.

Unfortunately, my brother passed that afternoon after choosing to redirect care. Over the next couple of years, our paths continued to cross from time to time. I found myself avoiding certain people because the memories were too much at times. However, there was no way that I could avoid Lauren. I didn’t want to. She would stop me in the hall and ask me how I and my family were doing. She reached out through mutual work friends that we shared to let me know that she was thinking about my brother and my family. It is truly a testament to the type of person she is that she went out of her way to reach out even years after he passed to let me know that his life had an impact on her and that my brother was not just another patient.

Fast forward to 2021 when I transferred to the CICU as a new grad APN provider. I found myself working alongside the wonderful nursing and provider staff that helped take care of not only my brother, but my family. I was able to interact with Lauren on a different level. I’ve watched her with her patients and was able to observe the wonderful care that she provides for them. Every patient may be different, but she treats each one the exact same. Pediatrics is difficult because not every patient is able to advocate for themselves. They rely on their nurses to advocate for them and that is exactly what Lauren is, an advocate. She notices the subtle changes in their assessments that could ultimately lead to decompensation. She makes sure to provide recommendations for what she thinks is best for the patient when she calls with a concern. Most importantly, she cares for the entire family and not just the patient. She advocates for the families when they cannot be at the bedside to advocate for their child. Our parents trust her to be their voice when they cannot be. That is the privilege of being a nurse.

I recently saw Lauren caring for another long-term patient who unfortunately passed away in the CICU. Hearing another person cry and experience the pain that you too have experienced by unexpectedly losing a loved one is torture. It is gut-wrenching because you know exactly how they feel. I remember walking by the room and seeing that Lauren was their nurse. Immediately, I got goosebumps. I can’t really explain what happened in that moment, but I knew that this family had everything that they needed because Lauren was in that room. It put me at ease knowing she was at the bedside, and I can only hope that the family felt the same way. At one point, I saw her walking through the hall, and again it was her eyes that I remember. This time, they were red and glossy. Clearly, the emotional toll of watching a patient’s family go through the worst day of their life had gotten to her. What did she do though? She gathered whatever supplies she was looking for and went back into the room to continue to care for this family. She knew what needed to be done and the importance of the care that this patient and their family deserved and needed. She put her needs second and stepped up to get the job done for this family.

Lauren has shown time and time again that she is essentially superhuman, in my opinion. She exemplifies not only what it means to be a nurse but a DAISY Nurse. I consider myself lucky to have been able to cross paths with her. She was a bright light in a very dark time for me as well as countless other patients and their families. Her dedication to our patients and their families cannot be matched. She goes above and beyond to ensure that each patient is getting the best quality of care they can receive. Nurses say that they are “just doing their job” but I think we all know better. I am a better person and a better provider because of the care that Lauren had showed me and my brother. I have struggled over the last few years with trying to find a way that I could say “thank you” to Lauren. To me, thank you has just never seemed to be enough. She deserves so much more than a thank you for the countless lives that she has touched. I just hope that she knows the impact she is making on a day-to-day basis cannot be measured. She is a bright light in so many people’s lives all because she was “doing her job.” Thank you, Lauren, for “doing your job.” Most importantly, thank you for being YOU!