Dana is an exceptional nurse on our unit who is often tasked with caring for patients with high acuity and high anxiety. In this scenario, Dana was the primary nurse for one of our long-term patients, Mr. A. Before Mr. A was implanted with the LVAD, he was described as a healthy, strong, burly 40-year-old man with no history of heart conditions. By the time Dana started taking care of him on our unit, he was frail with his face sunken in. His wife described him as someone who had aged 20 years in a matter of months. Throughout the day, he would press the call light when he had a panic attack. Every time, Dana would go to his bedside to hold his hand in an attempt to soothe him. On one of the times he called, he looked defeated and stated, “I can’t do this anymore. I’d rather die”. Dana suggested to Mr. A’s wife to organize a Zoom call between Mr. A and his 8-year-old son. She set up the iPad, kept the medical equipment out of sight, and placed a sheet over Mr. A’s trach collar and tracheostomy. She saw how excited Mr. A was for this and after the phone call ended everyone involved cried happy tears.

The next week Dana noticed that Mr. A had turned a corner. Mrs. A and her son had come to visit now in-person and his demeanor changed. He smiled and had a sparkle in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Mr. A’s wife pulled Dana aside privately and thanked her. She said, “You didn’t have to call me, but you did anyway”. This is just one example of what Dana does every single day to motivate her patients and to make real impact on their healing process.