I cannot begin to thank Nurse Maria enough. She went above and beyond just giving me my medication and assessing my surgical sites. She inherently knew something was wrong and reached out to my family member when I was brought to her floor post-op to find out more about my cognitive baseline. You can not teach a nurse that in her gut she knew I was off.

She motivated me to want to get better with her tireless dedication after I am sure she had work worked countless hours on her feet. Her positive energy, calming aura, and quick decision-making skills I know helped save my life that night. The world needs more healthcare providers like Maria. I trusted her totally and completely.

As we bonded over our love for dogs and other alternative evidence-based ways to help facilitate healing, she was soothing my anxiety as I had never been more petrified in my life. She did so with ease and grace as she was educating me on how to navigate the technology of the beautiful new pavilion. My Upper GI bleeding and the surgery that followed that led me to her floor were the lowest points of my life thus far. But having her care for me after was my silver lining. I will never forget her and the impact she made on me that night. Her patience in answering my questions as my brain was trying to piece together what happened to me post-op and why I was so difficult to arouse. Made me feel at ease and be able to rest enough to recover and actually sleep.

As a nurse myself I was never an easy patient and I never will claim to be. What I do know without a shadow of a doubt her getting the surgical team and quick judgments saved my life. If I could I would give her 1 million DAISY Awards. And I hope she never forgets the impact she had on me as a patient and I am sure countless others.