I am a 34-year-old young lady who was born with cystic fibrosis. I was thankfully blessed to receive a double lung transplant at 25 years of age. However, in the most recent days, I have been in chronic rejection, which has landed me in the hospital for a month at a time, receiving IV treatment. In my time here at New-York Presbyterian, I had many wonderful nurses, but one in particular stood out to me, and that was Connie Lissa Japitana.

She had the most radiant, bubbly, and uplifting personality that could brighten any room she walked into. I was struggling greatly through my new diagnosis, and she took the extra time out of her day to show real compassionate nursing care, sitting with me, talking, changing my mood, and even providing different therapies no one told me about, including aromatherapy for my severe anxiety.

Being far away from home with little family around, she made me feel seen and understood; I was a person, not just another patient. She wasn’t just doing her job for a paycheck; she is genuinely compassionate about what she does. I remember her telling me a story about a baby shower she had done for a colleague, and later that day, she came in with some candy goodies after asking my care team, of course. This was such a nice distraction and brought my anxiety down even more.

Her kindness and extra care were always on time when I rang my bell, and she made sure I was never in pain, and when I was, she got on the phone right away with the Physician Assistant to get pain meds in a timely fashion. After reading about the DAISY Award, I highly believe Connie is the definition of what the DAISY Award recognizes a true nurse as.