I am an older adult and have never been in the hospital longer than the one-night stay after having my children. The thought of a 5-7 day stay in the hospital was frightening, but Caleb, my day nurse, made all the difference.

I wasn't sure what to expect after my thoracotomy, but I was so fortunate to have Caleb assigned to my room. First of all, he reassured me that I would be taken care of and that together we would handle anything that came up. His reassurance put me right at ease, which is so very important for patient recovery. I knew I was in good hands.

I had the most excellent fortune to have Caleb as my day nurse for 3.5 days of my care. During that time, he was always attentive to my needs, from answering my call button to getting ice and cranberry juice for me, helping position me in the bed or recliner, asking about my pain levels, and always making sure I was covered when going to the bathroom or walking the halls. These are things that I'm sure many, if not all, nurses do because they are taught those skills. What is not taught, and what Caleb so effortlessly demonstrated, is the depth of his compassion and care.

There were several times during those 3 days when we had the opportunity to talk about things other than medically related, such as family, and that helped my healing as much as any medicine. And did I mention that Caleb was my nurse during the big Bloomington snowstorm? None of my family could come visit that day due to the road conditions, but I was so well cared for by Caleb that I didn't mind not having visitors.

I am submitting Caleb for the DAISY Award because I believe he demonstrated the utmost in professional care, as exhibited by his nursing skills and his ability to reassure patients that they will be taken care of in every way possible.

Caleb also received a 2nd DAISY nomination from the patient's husband:

Caleb went above and beyond to provide care for my wife following a partial lung removal. She was placed in Caleb's care immediately following post-op, and they served as her day nurse for the next four days of early recovery from a painful, aggressive surgery. Throughout that period, Caleb provided the full scope of skilled nursing from physical to mental care as she began her recovery and made her feel unique in spite of what I know had to be caring for at least three other patients. Caleb quickly gained patient confidence and trust, and made an extra effort to ensure she understood what was happening and why. Having done that, Caleb gained my own confidence and provided the reassurance I needed to understand early recovery. To me, Caleb sets the example for professional nursing care in your hospital.