Please accept this letter as a nomination for the DAISY Team Award for the nursing staff of St. Elizabeth Edgewood Floor 7D and their Nurse Manager for the outstanding care, comfort and compassion they provided to my wife JS and myself prior to her passing on Sept. 15, 2013.

My wife and I had a truly deep and engaging love over our nearly 26-year relationship. We had one fight, and it was my fault, in that time. We were rarely cross with each other and always had complete respect for each other. We were responsible, mostly because of her, planned and saved for our life together, and were told our marriage gave others inspiration of how good a marriage could be in these increasingly difficult times. As part of the responsible part of the relationship we had the important and difficult though necessary discussions about health care and end of life decisions and as such I know I did what she would have wanted when those most difficult of decisions had to be made.

My wife developed rapid onset of rheumatoid arthritis in July 2006, most probably from the extreme stress and workload of closing my parent's house in Chicago and relocating my mother to northern Kentucky after the passing of my father in March of that year. While my wife had a complicated and challenging early life, I do believe the statement "genetics may load the gun but environment pulls the trigger" applies and do feel the rapid onset was truly caused by the stress of taking on that huge task. One of the several significant and challenging conditions that developed was the near complete loss of a functioning immune system, we often saw ANC's of below 0.4 and even a few 0.0's.

After 4 1/2 months in 2011/2012 and several admittances in 2013 it was not until this final admittance that we were, quite by chance, moved to 7D. While our experience with the 7D staff was comparatively short - though we were blessed to have several months on the floor - the impact was life altering. Please know that while all nursing care experienced at St. Elizabeth was competent, the difference with the 7D staff was instantly exhibited as unique and that uniqueness was palpable. I stated early to my wife, and she agreed, there was an esprit de corps of cooperation and concern amongst the staff and that spirit was transferred to the patients in truly compassionate and caring way.

My wife battled several trips from 7D to MICU to battle infections and we were always welcomed back to the floor like returning family, which is how we felt.

From the beginning the staff offered support, love and care by never rushing their treatments and interactions and always taking time to explain what was being done, supporting my need to grasp options and work through a complete understanding of treatments. As her condition worsened it was becoming evident that an unavoidable surgery would need to be done.

It was decided to allow my wife time to gain as much strength as possible and wean her from the steroids she was on as much as possible in preparation for this surgery, the surgery was scheduled. Our wedding anniversary was right in the middle of the proposed surgery dates and she made it known she would prefer not to have surgery on that date. As it turned out, surgery that early was not really going to be an option but the 7D staff took that as a chance to make that anniversary the most special of all of our others.

The day started with a beautiful flower arrangement and not one but two cards, as one did not allow enough room for all the well wishes and kind thoughts of so many of the staff. We were so touched and appreciative and honestly felt the card and arrangement were all so much more than we expected. I took a few hours off, came back to the hospital and was able to take my wife outside for a wonderful respite in the fresh air and sunshine as well as a long and appreciated talk with a dear friend. On our return, the staff had set up a table with a tablecloth and fine china and silverware in the room. The staff had arranged a meal of "cut with a fork tender" filet mignon, twice baked potatoes, asparagus and grilled mushrooms and for dessert a wedding cake-truly an amazing effort. We couldn't have ordered a better meal in a restaurant. We were both brought to tears of joy and appreciation, and love for each other and the staff. The planning, effort and love that went into this celebration by so many of the staff show how special they truly are.

Then came the needed surgery, a most difficult four-hour operation. Many of the nurses stopped in her room to offer well wishes and several more stopped in the waiting area after their 12 hour shift to check on me and see how the surgery was going. Again, this level of care and concern for both of us exhibits how uniquely special the staff is on 7D.

Her recovery from the surgery was difficult but she eventually made it back to 7D but only for 5 days when she needed to return to the MICU where her decline accelerated and she lost responsiveness. Throughout that final stay in MICU many 7D nurses again visited to check on us, again often after their 12 hour shifts. Their compassion was true and heartfelt and as so many times before above and beyond any standard of simple nursing care.

When I made the final of so many difficult decisions to respect my wife's wishes and provide only pain medication for comfort when her death was inevitable a request was made that 7D supported completely. While her desire to die at home could not be achieved, she was moved to her new home on 7D for her last few hours. I am most comforted by the belief that she may have known she was "home" and again surrounded by the love and caring of her new family here.

Submitted with true and profound appreciation and respect (by the patient's husband).