I believe that sometimes God places special people or angels in our lives at the right moment, and he definitely placed Shelly in my dad's path. My dad's journey begins over 3 decades ago when he was 19 playing college basketball. At that time, he was diagnosed with Hodgkins & received heavy direct radiation to his chest. Although this did save his life then, it has caused various heart issues over the past 10 years. My dad has visited the cath lab multiple times and received several stents, but this last visit did not go as we expected.

Recently, my dad went to the ER after having a cardiac monitor placed that morning. My mom is a RN and the rock of our family, and she was there to reassure my brother and I that my dad would hopefully have another stent placed that day. Unfortunately, the surgeon recommended my dad for triple heart bypass surgery instead. This option had been discussed for years, but with my dad being young compared to most cardiac patients, we wanted to hold off as long as possible. And this is where Shelly stepped in. She was actually on vacation and volunteered to come in and be my dad's nurse during his surgery. She was kind, compassionate, and knowledgeable and reassured us that she would be with him the entire time. She came up early before surgery to talk to my dad and make sure he was comfortable. She answered all the many questions my family had. Shelly was full of smiles and had this calm demeanor that made me feel like everything would be okay.

I am 22 and the thought of not having my dad around for the big life moments was very scary. My mom, who is normally the strongest of us, went from constantly crying to feeling relief when Shelly entered the picture. Shelly reassured us that my dad was in the best hands possible. Shelly called out and updated my family frequently during the long 5 hour surgery. After surgery, she took my dad to the ICU and then came to talk to our family. Instead of taking care of herself and her needs after a long procedure, she immediately came to us to give us love, support, and hugs. She explained what the doctor was able to accomplish. She gave us expectations for the next few days and again answered all the questions we had. She never acted like she was in a hurry to get back. Shelly even checked on us a few days later when she brought another patient to the ICU.

Shelly gave my entire family peace and acceptance of what needed to happen, even if it was scary. My mom went from a wreck to holding Shelly's hand and praying together. Shelly truly served as my angel that day, and I will never forget her generosity. She never hesitated to come in on her day off to care for someone she didn't even know. Shelly truly provided extraordinary care that day to not only my dad, but my entire family. Shelly's amazing spirit and dedication to her patients are inspiring and make her beyond worthy of the DAISY Award.