I had surgery to remove a cerebellopontine angle meningioma and was discharged a few days later.  During my hospital stay, I had the most extraordinary care by the nurses on floor 6N.

In order for you to understand why I value and understand the high quality of their consistent professionalism, you must first understand my life experience of nursing care. My father developed throat cancer when I was 11 years old. Every day after school, for the months he was hospitalized, over a period of many years, and as the cancer continued to ravage his body, my mom would drive me to the hospital to visit my father.

There, I did my homework, had dinner, and stayed until it was time to go home. My life was consumed by the hospital experience until my father died when I reached the age of 17. Then, at the age of 21, my mother was diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma, and my hospital experience started once again. I was managing college, then a job, and caring for my mother, in and out of the hospital, for years. There were times when I would go 36 hours without sleep at the hospital when my mother was critical.

Trying to balance all of these life priorities could only be achieved by the driving love my mother instilled in me. She was once saved by the use of experimental medication, as the alternative was certain death. After taking this medication, she survived an additional five years and died when I was 32 years of age. As for myself, this surgery is actually the 28th surgery I have had in my 68 years of life. Therefore, although I have never been employed by a hospital or medical center, I can certainly assure you that I truly understand what qualifies an individual as meeting the highest standards of nursing care. As such, over all these years, this is the first time I am writing to nominate specific Registered Nurses for prestigious recognition.

From the moment I was brought into my room on the 6N wing, I was welcomed by smiling nurses who exhibited kindness with their words and compassion with their actions. Having just had brain surgery and knowing the possible severe side effects, their sincerity and professionalism gave me immediate peace of mind, knowing I could count on them for understanding and managing any concerns that would arise. What impressed me most was that it was not just one individual; it was every nurse I interacted with throughout my stay. I learned that these ladies work 12 1⁄2 hour shifts, going from room to room, never resting, attending to patients with serious issues, yet they find it in themselves, despite how tired they are, to put the patient first, to lift the spirit of the patient with a smile and kind words, each time they walk into the room. It was not an act, I found it was actual love, the type of love my mom taught me dedication to others. To find this depth in one person is unique, but to find it consistently in a whole team of nurses is extraordinary.

I also found their level of knowledge and professionalism to be beyond compare. They took care during shift changes to ensure that my needs were discussed and met. During this time, I also had the opportunity to briefly engage, they made me feel as I was a part of their team and they welcomed any questions I may have had. I was also involved in the decision and planning of what time it was best to take pain medications to ensure that I would have the least pain possible throughout the day and night. Although it was a brief discussion, they made me feel I was also involved in the ownership of my care.

What I found to also be extraordinary, was that which each and every medication or injection, or test I was given, each of these nurses ensured that I was informed of the name of the medication, the dosage, why this medication or test would be of benefit to me, what I would feel during the injection or test, when the medication would take effect, and for how long the effect or test would last. Again, this level of consistent professionalism in the whole team is really unparalleled.

Due to prior colon surgeries, my surgeon ensured that I would not encounter any difficulty after surgery, given the amount of pain medication I would be receiving. Let's just say the medication I was given in the ICU worked so well that I was ready for a colonoscopy. I was deeply embarrassed by these more than hourly occurrences, given I had no control over my body, nor was I allowed to remove myself from my hospital bed, as I was tagged as a fall hazard. These nurses handled these situations with incredible empathy and professionalism. It was amazing to see how they worked as an engaged and integrated team, each with leadership skills to seamlessly manage and continuously balance my needs, with their other patients, and do all this work with a smile and kind reassurance.

During the brain surgery, I was lying on my right side for 6 hours. I knew I was experiencing pain; however, during an examination by one of the nurses, she discovered I had a very large and solid lump on my right chest wall. I also have lipedema, and the nurses noticed my legs had swelled considerably beyond my baseline. As such, several of the nurses conferred and, after examination, advocated for me by contacting the house doctor. Upon his examination, he immediately requested an ultrasound of both my legs and my right chest wall. Fortunately, no blood clots were found; however, because of the skill and experience of the nursing staff, they recognized what could have been a most serious situation.

Despite what I went through in life, I have always had a glass-half-full attitude and try to find the humor in any difficult situation, frequently telling the nurses, "Oh, don't mind my sense of humor, that's how I get through life". I do not consider myself one who is precluded from bursts of emotion, as I have learned to handle stress long ago. This personality trait came in handy when dealing with my post-operative lack of balance, unexpected lack of short-term memory recall, surgical side effects, loss of bodily control, and unexpected swelling. However, despite my positive attitude, I became completely overwhelmed when going through the numerous 2 1⁄2 pages of medications listed in the discharge instructions.

One of the medications listed, naloxone, was in case I overdosed on the prescribed medications. The televised discharge nurse explained to my husband and me that this specific medication is given "in case she turns blue, stops breathing, or becomes unresponsive". After trying to have a positive attitude all week long, the thought of accidentally overdosing actually made me, as I call it, "hit the wall". Given my lack of short-term memory, I became completely overwhelmed and was crying profusely because I could not comprehend the instructions, the dosages, nor time intervals necessary to take all the medications safely.

I knew at that time I was incapable of safely managing my own medication. It was then that my husband had to leave me to pick up my medication, as it was a holiday and the store was closing in half an hour. Trying to hold my emotions together, I asked my nurse at the time to sit with me and explain the medications and instructions. She demonstrated the willingness to listen to my concern, provide comfort, and put my concerns into perspective. She explained that with the dosages that were prescribed, I would not be susceptible to overdosing.

In addition, she highlighted the drugs that had interactions. She suggested a dosing routine that would not only accomplish a goal of medication security, but also how my husband could manually track the medications to ensure compliance with the schedule. She was kind enough to go over this again with my husband when he returned. It is only because of her dedication, knowledge, and compassion that my husband and I left the hospital that day with confidence to manage these medications safely in the days ahead.

I wish I could correlate a specific nurse to every specific situation (and please note that these were merely examples of the many times they exhibited care, beyond the basic call of duty). However, my unexpected lack of short-term memory has not enabled me to do so. However, that does not detract from the care that I received from the most consistently dedicated, professional, compassionate, and knowledgeable team of nurses I have ever encountered. As I could not remember each of the nurses' names, before I left the hospital, I asked for their names with the intent of nominating them for The DAISY Award, as it is well deserved. I would like to personally thank each of these Registered Nurses for the leadership and professionalism they demonstrated, and their unparalleled commitment to patient care.

These specific nurses truly exemplify your hospital's motto of "Healing through Humankindness."