October 2012
Courtney
Edwards
,
2LT, RN
Surgery Ward
Arlington
,
VA
United States

 

 

 

We nominate 2LT Courtney Edwards for the DAISY Award but cannot simply describe one situation to demonstrate that she meets the criteria absolutely deserves this award as that simply wouldn’t measure up to the level of care that she has provided to our son since his admission. Our son was admitted following major abdominal surgery and has been in both the CCU and inpatient ward 5 East and the attention level of compassion provided by 2LT Edwards has been unmatched. He is on 24 hr pain medication (as well as others) and we never have to ask for any of it as 2LT Edwards is consistently on time. He has not suffered once under her care. She is always there to help with bathing, meals, to lend a compassionate ear or even to provide a respite for us. She offers to just sit and chat with our son and he has grown very fond of her. He is 24 years old and developmentally delayed so he is functionally about 4-7 years old and is sometimes difficult to understand due to a speech impediment, but none of that matters to Courtney. She seems to treat him like a member of her own family. The level of care, compassion, and kindness given by 2LT Courtney Edwards is exponentially superior to any we have ever received anywhere around the world during my 24 years of active duty and the five years since my retirement. 2LT Courtney Edwards has made us feel like family and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center can consider itself lucky to have her as a member of their family. She exemplifies the US Army Core values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. She is truly an angel of mercy and we respectfully request she receives the DAISY Award.