The first thing I have to say is that it is always difficult to identify someone, for recognition, when you have such a terrific staff to begin with. It appears, from my point of view, that every member of your team deserves recognition. So, this award becomes so much more. So why Ashley?

I think that from our very first meeting, I could see how she was taking charge of everything. She had this quiet sense of control, and she instilled confidence in me that she was going to take care of her patient, whether I liked it or not. I tried to bring my sense of humor with me, and she let me know that was okay, to a limit. She was always there, as if she could anticipate my every issue.

One day, my wife and I were talking about Ashley and trying to guess her age. Well, I was wrong. I couldn’t believe that someone that young could be so good at what she does. I did not believe that such control, efficiency, knowledge, and caring could be in such a young person. I remember that I had to have a procedure on Sunday morning, and I was fighting it. I felt that I had said my peace and that no one was listening to me, so I shut down. But the arguing went on. There must have been seven to eight people there.

After a while, I looked over at Ashley, and with my eyes and a head shake, I asked her what to do. She said that I should go forward with the procedure. A couple of minutes later, I stopped the chatter and told everyone that we were going forward. The last thing I remember was seeing Ashley at the foot of my bed, watching over everything. Then I went to sleep for a nice nap, feeling very comforted by Ashley. I had complete trust and confidence in Ashley, and I don’t know how I got this feeling with her at her youth. She has to have a special talent, or gift given to her by God.