Julian Marieb, BSN, RN

My mom received mitral valve repair, and it was canceled twice leading up to her surgery because of how nervous she was. As her only child, seeing her undergo major surgery was heartbreaking and stressful. You can only hope that, going into a process like this, the most important person in your life will receive care from nurses and staff in the way that you would provide if you could.

When Julian Marieb was assigned as her nurse, I quickly knew she would receive that kind of care exactly. Julian was an absolute light. Not only was he an expert in providing care to patients with this type of surgery (and many others, as he floats to several different ICU floors), he did so with compassion, a sense of humor, and always with a smile on his face. Julian took great care in explaining every step of the recovery process and all of the treatments my mom received.

As a patient and the family of a patient, it can be scary and difficult to understand courses of treatment. Julian took the time to make sure we were comfortable with her treatment every step of the way and that we understood exactly what to expect. Outside of the depth of his expertise, Julian took the time to build relationships with us as well. We shared many stories and laughs throughout our two days together. Again, being in this position can be emotional and challenging, but Julian made the time fly by and eased all our worries by building trustworthy relationships with us and bringing light to the room every time he walked in.

My family and I asked Julian if the DAISYs on his badge represented every year he worked at the hospital. He mentioned that each of these DAISYs was actually a nomination for the DAISY Award from other patients, and we knew immediately that we wanted to nominate Julian for this Award. By the time we said bye to Julian at shift change, I was brought to tears! Overall, Julian gave my family and me a newfound appreciation for the selflessness, intelligence, and compassion it requires to be a nurse.

Julian is the kind of nurse who leaves a lasting impact on their patients and one that we will surely never forget. As evidenced by the number of DAISYs he has on his badge already from other nominations, he clearly has a special ability to make not just my family, but all of his patients feel seen, supported, and genuinely moved by his care. It would mean very much to us to see Julian win this Award - I truly believe it was his nurturing support, positive energy, attention to detail, and expertise that made my mom’s recovery as smooth as it was.