When you hear your mother has stage 3 or 4 cancer in her lung, it takes every ounce of strength not to fall to the ground in tears. Whoever coined the phrase, "life changes in a heartbeat," could not be more correct. I have been a nurse for 39 years, “old school,” as they call us. Working in the ER and perioperative area, cancer was new to me and my family. Yes, we had lost family members, but this was my mom.

I met Joyce by a mutual contact who said, call my friend Joyce, she works in Oncology, and she can help you. I called her, and Joyce, who was on her day off shopping at Costco, stopped everything she was doing and talked to me for over 45 minutes on the phone. She talked me “off the ledge.” She offered me support, knowledge, resources, and, above all, kindness. She said I could call her, text her, she was here for me. An absolute stranger took the time to comfort me in one of my lowest moments. Chance would only happen that Joyce also took care of my mom. Joyce was so kind, empathetic, and a breath of fresh air to my mom. She gave my mom, my family, and I hope. This Award is such an honor for a nurse; we do not do our job for the accolades, but in all honesty, to hear we did a good job means a lot to a nurse. It tells us we are doing what we are meant to do. So, thank you, Joyce. May you wear your DAISY with pride because you are the type of nurse we all aspire to be!