My husband is currently participating in a clinic trial administered by the Sanford Oncology Department. I am the primary caregiver, and I attend every appointment. I would like to take a moment to say Sherra van Donkersgoed has touched our lives in many ways. 

When I think of the DAISY Award, I felt called to make an intentional nomination. Sherra is present during parts of the weekly appointments and makes intentional stops during the two-hour infusion treatment. Sherra helps, in every weekly visit, with her kind words, encouragement and helping to better fit appointment times, and taking the extra effort to go seek out people who can help accommodate our hour-long commute, has taken a huge burden off me. Her intuition reads the situation and can see if we are losing the mental battle or if I need to talk about the feelings we both have. Sherra sees to it that I have a space to talk and ask many questions, and if she has to, she goes to seek the answers. She never misses calling during the week to check in, and GENUINELY wants us to have a life, find the balance, and not be afraid to take a break. In my 15 years watching my husband battle this, I have seen a lot of people in the health care system, and I think about Sherra almost every day during this as she is someone who I would have picked as a dear friend if I had met her in another situation. 

She exemplifies what the system should look like. Being able to call her on a given day has helped us quickly navigate this trial. 

Sherra has made bearable this miracle that works for my husband but has virtually stopped our lives for many days and caused deep heartache. 

May God offer many more blessings and opportunities to Sherra.