Christine Hornyak is a remarkable nurse whose patient-focused approach and empathetic soul are exactly whom the DAISY Award aims to honor. Christine shared the following story with me. Christine, while on assignment with us at Summa Health – Barberton, had a 19-year-old patient who had a debilitating genetic skin condition, Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), which causes the sweat glands to become infected. The Doctor treating Christine's patient said it was the worst case of this disease they had ever seen. The disease causes seeping from every fold of skin and resulted in a wound that was tunneling into her sacrum, something that is indescribably painful. 

Her screams filled the floor along with the terrible odors caused by the infection. Any patient would struggle with this, but as Christine pointed out, she knew that a 19-year-old girl especially would be self-conscious and mortified by what she was dealing with. It’s tough enough to be that age and have nothing going wrong, yet alone have something so painful and odorous. When Christine first went to treat her, her patient recoiled and did not want anything to do with Christine. She was used to different medical providers being unable to help and assuming the worst of her. Christine said she had heard people saying they thought this unfortunate young woman was drug seeking. Christine spent one hour a day doing wound care on this patient, an exorbitant amount of time, all while providing great patient care to her other patients. 

Over the course of three days, Christine gained the trust of her young patient, who was able to relax and then, slowly but surely, was able to begin to heal. Prior to being treated by Christine, she had to be wheeled everywhere as she had been completely bedridden, but by the time she was moved from Christine's unit, she was able to walk on her own to go to the restroom. Christine was filled with joy to see her on her feet doing things for herself. When it was time to leave Christine's unit, this patient gave Christine a big hug. This physical touch would have been unfathomable a few short days before. She also gave Christine a blue candle and a prayer card. A month later, while floating, Christine saw this patient again and received another hug as this patient was preparing to discharge. This patient remembered exactly who Christine was and the difference she had made in her life during her toughest time.

Note: This is Christine's 2nd DAISY Award!