Then Daisy came and right away she knew something was wrong. She saved my life.

Shared by a staff member to me:  I entered a patient’s room for a morning respiratory treatment. The patient asked me if Daisy was here today to take care of him/her. I told the patient she was assigned to him/her but I was helping out for the morning. He/she asked if there was a supervisor he/she could speak to about her. I told the patient I was a team leader and said I would like to help but we also had a manager if he/she was not comfortable talking to me.

The patient became very tearful and started visibly crying and told me the last time he/she was receiving dialysis they could not breathe, stating “I kept telling them I could not breathe but they just kept telling me I had too much fluid in my lungs and would be better after my treatment. I thought I was going to die. Then Daisy came and right away she knew something was wrong. She saved my life. I had a trach at the time and she suctioned me and couldn’t even pass the suction, she did everything she had to. She did not give up on me, she was my patient advocate.” The patient again repeated, “she saved my life.” He/she had tears streaming down his/her face the whole time he/she was talking to me. The patient then said, “I have lied awake in bed thinking about her so many times but I didn’t know her name until she walked in yesterday to give me a treatment. I want to make sure she gets the recognition she deserves.”

I assured the patient I would let our manager know and thanked him/her for telling me about his/her story. I also told the patient I am so glad he/she is doing so well. He/she no longer has a trach. I also spoke with Daisy and let her know of the conversation and how appreciative we are of her great patient care. She said she remembered the patient. The trach was so occluded she was not even able to pass a 10 French catheter and the patient was in a lot of respiratory distress.