Where do I start, my dad was an open heart and valve patient on a hot August day. The surgery was long, and the heart team had a hard time stabilizing my dad in surgery to stop him from bleeding so much. Finally, they were able to get him up to the ICU, and there we were met with open arms as they allowed 6 of us to go back and lay eyes on Dad really quickly. It was the scariest thing to see him so pale and intubated. But with tears in every set of eyes was Julia, who looked at us all and said, "I promise you I will take excellent care of him. He is critical but we will start getting him turned around quickly and soon. We have lots to do tonight."

It was hard to walk away with my mom sobbing, my parents have been inseparable for 54 years. She wanted to sleep in the ICU waiting room just to be near him. I called and talked to Julia, and she said, "I can't tell you what to do, but I will keep you up to date with everything going on." Julia gave my mom and family updates, reassuring us with every small step to wake my dad up. She was an angel. A true angel.

She FaceTimed my mom later that evening so that my dad (I am getting choked up as I write this) could say hello to my mom after they extubated him. That moment was one of the most precious moments my mom and dad have had in their life, bringing us all to tears as she cried with joy hearing his voice and seeing his face, which was much different than how she left him a few hours before that. We all know the procedures of nurses and how they work like this for lots of people, but to take the time to make all of those tasks seem like miracles because she treated my dad like her family. All those things together make her our hero.

Julia continued to provide updates throughout the evening and night and again in the morning before she left. She even sent a text message during the day asking how he was doing! Who does that during their downtime? Julia does; this is what makes her the most extraordinary and compassionate nurse we know. I was blown away, truly. Every time I think about this, I literally have tears in my eyes for someone to go what I would call more than above and beyond. She is outstanding and deserves this award.

We saw Julia again the next night, unfortunately, she didn't have my dad; but she brought him warm apple bread, and didn't stop there and gave some to me and my mom. Oh my goodness, how precious and amazing is that? Again tears! To care that much about us to share. My sister even speaks of this moment, as we just talked about this the other night, she was crying saying you have no idea how much that moment FaceTiming Mom and Dad meant to her. It allowed my mom to relax that night after being up nearly 20 hours.

Julia has since reached out occasionally to see how my dad is doing, checking on him as if he was her family. Julia is extraordinary and compassionate and truly deserves a DAISY Award. She is our forever our hero and will never be forgotten by this family.