When I asked my daughter what she liked about having Ella as her nurse, her first answer was "everything," which is a rather accurate description of what we all appreciated about her! Ella was such a comfort to our daughter during her admissions. She provided excellent nursing care. Ella took the time to learn about our daughter's interests; she was always willing to take a few extra minutes to listen to my daughter talk about her stories or experiences, which often provided a welcome distraction from each hospital stay. Whenever we were admitted and not assigned to Ella, she would stop by to say hi and ask how we were doing. It was such a welcome surprise for us that our daughter looked forward to her visits every admission and would often ask if we thought Ella would be there the next time she had to go to the hospital.

Ella was incredibly thorough in her teaching, ensuring we understood everything during a new and overwhelming diagnosis. One specific memory was from our daughter's first round of chemo. We were given the medications and discharge instructions, but instead of letting us figure it out by reading it on our own, Ella made sure to take the time to go through all the paperwork with me step-by-step. She talked with me about all of the medications and home care details, going above and beyond to write out the medication schedule for us on the discharge paperwork to make sure we knew how to alternate her medications. We wanted to nominate Ella for the DAISY Award because we are so appreciative of the care that she gave our daughter. Ella went above and beyond to get to know and connect with her and find ways to bring joy to some of her toughest days.