About a year ago, I severely herniated a disc in my back and got admitted to the hospital for pain management and possible surgery. I was very lucky to have been placed on HC5 where I was taken care of by an amazing nurse.

What I thought would be a low-key, predictable admission got very critical fast when I had a severe reaction to a medication, causing me to seize, lose my memory, and be debilitated more than I already was with my back injury. I ended up getting rapid responses three times due to my reaction and the side effects following.

To make matters worse, I was getting married six weeks after all this happened and to say I was stressed was an understatement. My now husband was on his bachelor party trip and came home to his wife being hospitalized for eight days, nothing any bride or groom would ever wish for.

I was honored to really get to know Devin before my memory got increasingly hazy from my reaction. He was extremely attentive, helping me with pain meds and reacting very professionally when my condition really started to get critical. He called for rapid responses when they were necessary and remained supportive through it all.

I am actually a nurse here at KU and am a member of the rapid response/code blue team. To be a patient and to know what can be going on in order to call a rapid response was quite frightening for me, being on the opposite side of things. I am eternally grateful that Devin never left my side through the first rapid response, and I am sure a few others who were called. His presence eased my anxiety when I did not know what was going on. It was the scariest moment of my life.

My memory really started to get bad, but my now husband stayed with me during the rest of my admission when he returned from his trip. On multiple occasions, my husband has told me about things he and Devin talked about and bonded over. I know Devin acted as a support system for my husband when I was out of my wits, and I truly cannot thank him enough.

For me, I do not remember much from the rest of the admission, but my husband remembers every scary, unexpected hiccup that happened. Devin helped ease his nerves and educated him on everything that was happening with me.

I had to take over a month off work to let my brain recover, but I was able to get married on my original wedding day, something I feared was getting taken from me during this admission. My husband and I are now happily married, and I am officially many months seizure-free.

I have so much to thank Devin for. He exemplifies everything that the DAISY Award represents. The compassion and care I received from him will never be forgotten. I am forever indebted to all that he did for me and gave me. Without his hard work, I am not sure what my wedding day would have looked like.

Devin truly deserves all the recognition.