A telephone call from my oncology department made me very happy this week. At first, I answered the phone with a little trepidation just simply because of the origin of the call.
After the caller informed me I was indeed who she wanted on the phone, she let me know that the nurse I had nominated for the Daisy Award had won. She went on to tell me she was anxious to meet me and that I was being invited to the awards ceremony for the recipient of the Daisy Award, Barbara Self.
I should explain a little about what the Daisy Award entails. It is given each year to show profound gratitude and honor to a nurse who has performed superhuman work in doing direct care for her patients. She also has to be well respected and in good standing with the hospital.
The lady I nominated always has gone above and beyond the normal care. From the first day I met her until the last time I took my chemo treatment in December Barbara, has been exemplary of that.
The first day I met her was on one of the most painful days of my life and that was the day I had my bone marrow intruded to see if cancer had entered. While this is being done, it sounds like they are chunking out stone, and it is one of the most excruciating pains you can imagine. I feel like the Lord was on my side when he put Barbara Self there to help me get through it.
I asked her to give me spelling bee words and the state capitols as fast as she could to help keep my mind away from the pain. She did, and believe it or not, I did not cry. She became my friend for life that day. Her soft voice and tenderness was what I needed. She not only had to concentrate on assisting the doctor, but she kept both our needs going.
Though I did have cancer that had entered my bone marrow, I still look at that day as one I could not have gotten through without her
Since then, I have had many chemo treatments, and if I can get through my next three treatments, I may get a break from them. If Barbara is assisting other cancer patients, she always takes time out of her busy schedule to come see me and to check on my life and that of my family sometime during her break.
I have truly grown to love her and it happened the first day I met her.
When I mentioned to her that she was worthy of the Daisy Award during a chemo session, she said, “Now, Sue, honey, we have so many good nurses who are just as worthy of that reward. They all work really hard.” All of her coworkers love her to pieces and if they want to know something they always go to Barb to help them out.
I was there to see the large banner hung up to welcome her as she entered the infusion department on Monday. The nurses of the department were asked to come in 30 minutes early for a meeting. Barbara said the thought ran through her mind that with so many of the heads of the hospital in the room, maybe their department may have done something wrong.
It was such a joy to be able to share in her excitement as they read my letter — along with some others — nominating her for the award. Her joy was ecstatic, and the hugs she gave me were proof of that.
She made me sign her banner — a privilege usually saved for other nurses — so I felt honored. My picture was taken with her for the hospital magazine. It was an honor to stand beside her.
I was thinking, you never know what an impact someone’s life can have on your own life from your very first meeting of that person. Barbara sees some of the worst cases of cancer every day of her life, but she made me think I was special to her. I hope all the nurses who win a Daisy Award are like Barbara Self and are “selfless” in their treatment of their patients.
I learned Monday of Patrick Barnes, who had been a patient at Central Baptist Hospital for eight weeks.
On the day before he died, he asked his parents to please bring him some cinnamon buns the next morning. He added, “Be sure and bring enough for all the nurses too, they are all so nice to me.” He died in November 1999 with the disease known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. His parents wanted to honor him, and since the year 2000 a special nurse each year who is worthy of the Daisy Award is honored.
Another acronym for the Daisy award is Diseases Against Immune Systems. The Barnes family noted that even if their patients in that department were heavily sedated, the nurses kept the same watchful eye over them and not only on their son, Patrick. They were impressed by the care of the nurses at Central Baptist Hospital, and they knew Patrick would have been proud to honor them too.
On the day of the award, cinnamon buns are brought in to serve to the Daisy Award winner and her fellow nurses. Orange juice is served with daisy napkins, and the recipient also gets a jar of cinnamon spice.
Yesterday, Barbara got to choose four other nurses to also receive a pin who she thought to be most deserving. I am sure she had a hard job making that distinction.
They are all wonderful in the oncology department, but one stood out above the rest.
