I was recently admitted to the hospital. I spent 2.5 days in the ICU, and then I was transferred to 2 East. I myself am a nurse and spent 9 years at Parkview; most of those years were spent working in the ER, so being the strong-willed, stubborn nurse lying in that hospital bed was very difficult and emotionally challenging. I did not meet Ashley until Thursday. She came into my hospital room, introduced herself and the nursing student with her, and respectfully asked for my permission to allow the nursing student to assist with my care and update my whiteboard. We discussed my medications, and I let her know which medications I wanted and which ones I did not need. She would come back and do an assessment and medications once she had made her rounds to meet her other patients, and I mentioned to her how sore my back was from sleeping in an awkward position.

Before she left, she offered to apply the prescribed pain-relieving topical cream since I was unable to apply it myself. This may seem like a small gesture, but she took time before moving on to meet her other patients to help me, and as a nurse, experiencing this all for the first time, Ashley was the only nurse that cared for me that was consistent, always kind and respectful, and always notified me of what medications she was giving me and respected my wishes to decline certain medications. She treated me with the same kindness and respect throughout the remainder of my stay until my discharge.

In one of our conversations regarding nursing, Ashley told me that she was a new nurse and was still within her first year, so I am nominating Ashley for a daisy award for not only her kindness and compassion, but also for treating her nursing students with kindness and patience and setting an example for all nurses, new and old. Nurses join this profession because we want to help others during what might be their darkest days, and we aim to provide comfort, compassion, education, and advocacy to those in need. Ashley did just that, and in her short time as a nurse, I hope she always remembers why she became one, and I want her to know that I will never forget the care she provided me during a time when I was at my most vulnerable and needed it most.