I am a nurse educator here at Albany Med. I am very used to comforting and caring for patients but being a patient myself – I am not used to that at the ripe age of 27. I was petrified to go for my endoscopy. I had never had anesthesia in the past and was beyond nervous. Patty came to meet me, and I instantly felt at ease (which by the way is hard to do when you’re a nurse. Since you know all of the bad things that can happen). She gave me a warm blanket and I had to admit to her how awkward it was to have a procedure where I work. We laughed and talked, and I instantly felt so much better. I knew she was going to take such good care of me. After the procedure was done, I didn’t have the 100% positive results I wanted. I started sobbing after I woke up and found out. Patty wasn’t even supposed to be my recovery nurse, but she came to check on me. She instantly came and comforted me, educated me, and reassured me. It made me feel so much better. I don’t know what I would have done without her. At this point in time. I had a lot of things going on in my life, a lot of bad news. I felt like I couldn’t take one more piece of bad news. But the truth is that I was strong enough to endure this news and uncertainty, I just needed someone as loving and caring as Patty to support me. I am a nurse – I know what nurses do. We work tirelessly, long, challenging days and hours. We watch people, cry, laugh, live, and even die. I know Patty has seen so much and worked so hard in her career. She made me feel safe, heard, and valued and that is not easy as a nurse with 1 million tasks to do, emotions to manage, and usually a much overdue lunch break. I can’t ever thank her enough for what she did for me that day, but being the DAISY Award recipient is a start! She even hugged my mom and me before we left. Patty, you have my heart, and I will remember you forever.