Congratulations to our January DAISY Award Honoree, Alaina Zachary, BSN, RN, CEN, Staff Nurse, Emergency Medicine, and Transport, Emergency Department. She was nominated by the sister of a patient, who wrote:

I wanted to share the story of an extraordinary nurse I encountered when my brother was in the UIHC ER. He was admitted to the ER with end-stage kidney disease and COVID-19. He had a private room and dialysis that night. We did not know that he would die four days later. I was his caregiver and waited alone in the room while he was on dialysis. It was then that I met the nurse who would provide such tender, gentle, and respectful care to both my brother and myself once my brother returned to the ER room after dialysis. Since my brother was so ill, he couldn't advocate for himself, and the nurse partnered with me in caring for him. I told her about his post-dialysis routine, which included medicine for his neuropathy, washing his skin with a warm washcloth, putting lotion on his body, and getting him food since he hadn't eaten all day. Sometimes, nurses seem understandably hurried and stressed and perhaps annoyed with extra requests. Instead, Alaina seemed to embrace being a partner in tending to the sick and suffering. She fed him ice cream in a calm and encouraging manner. I didn't think a nurse would rub lotion on his skin (which crawls after dialysis), but to my surprise, this nurse was happy to ease my brother's suffering by putting lotion on his body.

She allowed the lights to be dim while I played music my brother loved. She partnered with me, and we nursed my brother together in a quiet room in the ER while the world buzzed with chaos outside our room. I have thought of her often and wanted to thank her. It was because of this evening nurse that I felt I could go home late that night. I knew he was in good hands.