Recently Julie had a patient who had received a terminal diagnosis. He was a patient at the Rehab during his birthday. Julie bought him cupcakes, balloons, a gift, and made sure he had a snack. She gathered the night staff on the unit to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. Though the patient shared his sadness at this being “his last birthday,” he was grateful that someone cared enough to celebrate him.

This is not the first time that I’ve noticed Julie showing this kind of compassion for patients. She often takes care to learn small details from the patients’ lives and often surprises them with little gifts and snacks that remind the patients of home. Recently, she even learned how to make a cultural dish for another patient who had not been in his home country in many years and she made his life just a little bit happier. For these and the many other things she does when no one is looking, she is a true DAISY Nurse.