After the worst, scariest & most confusing day of my life, & after a (surprise) sleepless night, the nurse who came on shift the next morning had me…laughing? Shouldn’t I be too sad to laugh at anything? I wondered. But Maci didn’t give me a choice. Each time she walked into my room, she did the best thing she could for me- she engaged with me as if we were anywhere but a sad hospital room. I don’t know if she ever feels like being a nurse is too stressful. I know most nurses probably feel that way most days. But if she does, she never shows it. After having to stay all night, I expected to be discharged in the morning. However, my vitals & blood results were less than desirable, so I didn’t get discharged until that evening. So I feel that day was key in how I moved forward with my life. I could have wallowed in self-pity all day & left the hospital that night in a horrible mood. Instead, Maci took care of me all day & helped me keep my head level. And I know she had other patients to take care of, but she still came in chatting like we were friends, & when my husband & I asked her questions, she never seemed rushed or like she even had anywhere else to be. She single-handedly kept the mood for us lighthearted & calm. While we were in shock and pain, she steered the ship back to humanity, seemingly effortlessly, with her infectious positivity and always knowing the right thing to say. She didn’t skirt around the specific care that I needed, but she never for one minute let me get sucked down into the darkness I was feeling. She is a DAISY Nurse!

Note: I wasn’t even supposed to be on the Young Adult unit but after a complication with a D&C I was going to be kept overnight to be observed, & the hospital was full, so when that bed opened up, I took it. After the care the nurses up there gave me, I know I was 100% supposed to be in the young adult unit.