This is a letter I've been putting off writing because it brings up the most painful time in my family's life. However, it would have been an injustice not to write it because of the OUTSTANDING service provided by the staff at Baptist Health Louisville on 4South!

The day after Christmas my 70 year old mother was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, anemia and COPD exacerbation. We were so grateful she made it through Christmas without being in the hospital, as she has been there before on Christmas.

We have a large Catholic family, totaling 8, of which includes 6 children. I am the number 4 child in the family. Three of us are nurses and one of my sister-n-laws is a nurse also. So when we come to the hospital, of course, we are very involved in the care of our family members and keep the staff on their toes. One of us always stays with mom 24/7 when she's in the hospital.

When mom was admitted, as you can imagine, all hands were on deck and we were all there at her side as she was sicker than she had ever been before. She was on 10 liters of high flow oxygen and was on the brink of needing to be put on the ventilator. We arrived on the unit and soon after met our DAISY nurse, Leigh Anna.

You know how it is when you witness or experience something like you never have before? Sometimes you may make eye contact with someone close to you and without saying a word you know what each other are thinking. That's what happened when my sister and I witnessed the nursing care by Leigh Anna! We have witnessed a lot of great nursing before, but there was something extra special about Leigh Anna. Her bedside demeanor, nursing intelligence, clinical skills, compassion, attention to the patient and family were all extraordinary! It was something about her quality of care that stood out above and beyond anything we've experienced in all of the times my parents have been in the hospital. My sister stayed with mom the first couple of nights and continued to witness this extraordinary quality of care provided by Leigh Anna. On December 28th, my sister called me and told me she was going to write a letter to nominate Leigh Anna for the DAISY Award, I was in complete agreement. What I haven't told you is the significance of my sister's wanting to do this... she was a senior nursing leader at another large hospital.

Tragically, on December 30 my sister committed suicide. She was the youngest of my siblings. My sister was one of those people that made a significant impact on so many people's lives that's it's hard to describe the loss of her personally community wide.
The hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life was to tell my parents of my sister's death. Not only was mom very ill, my father has significant heart issues, so we were literally afraid the news of her death would kill them. In the very early hours on December 31st we gathered all of my family and my parents' priest at the hospital. I spoke to the nursing staff about the tragedy and concern when telling my parents and they assisted with contacting the doctors so we could prepare for whatever should occur when telling them.

All of the staff on the unit could not have been more respectful and helpful during the remainder of our hospital stay. To accommodate a large, mourning family is a difficult task. God's presence was felt as they gave us what we needed, when we didn't even know what we needed. They even helped us organize getting mom to the funeral home for a short visitation and then to the funeral. I cannot think of one single thing they could have done better! Mom miraculously improved by the grace of God and was able to discharge to rehab.

My sister was gifted as an eloquent writer; I can't imagine what she would have written in nominating Leigh Anna for the DAISY Award. I know I'm not doing it justice but wanted to try. As important and significant is the care we received by the entire staff on this unit! We will never be able to put into words how grateful we are for care they gave our entire family during this tragedy!