I was in a motorcycle accident and I came to Mission in an ambulance with my femur sticking out of my thigh, in a ton of pain, and losing a lot of blood. I was immediately met by Julie Flanagan, who was so kind and compassionate, I know it is because of her that I didn't become hysterical. I'm a labor and delivery nurse, and although this gives me some understanding, broken bones and emergency treatment of this kind is not something that I'm familiar with. I asked Julie to be upfront with me, and she was. She explained everything that was happening, even in the crazy swirl of everyone working on me, and she kept me very calm. She told me every step of the process, explained my injuries to me, and kept me informed of the medications I was receiving. I was very close to loosing it and felt at any moment I was going to really freak out. Julie held my hand and kept me calm. She kept my pain under control, and assured me every step of the way that I was going to be ok.

She also was very kind in dealing with my family and friends that were present, and I can't thank her enough for that. When I went into xray, she came right away with pain medication. I needed the xray techs to give me a minute to breathe and explain what they were doing, but everyone seemed very rushed. Julie came and calmed me down, I was in so much pain, and her gentle nature and kindness was the only thing that got me through the excruciating xray experience. When she was preparing me for surgery, she was very present with me and answered all of my questions. I was worried that I might wake up without a leg, and she took the time to go get the consent I had signed and let me read it to reassure me that it did not say "amputation" anywhere on it.

Julie went above and beyond her normal job duties to care for me, and even now, 2 months later, I know it was because of her that I was able to maintain control of myself and have some sort of comfort in an otherwise terrible situation. As a nurse, I learned so much from her that day. Seeing this experience from the patient's perspective has given me a whole new understanding of the nursing care that I hope to give my patients in the future when I return to work. Julie taught me the importance of slowing down, truly listening and respecting the concerns and fears of my patients, managing my patient's family with respect and compassion, taking the time to answer questions while at the same time getting my job done in a timely manor, and the importance of truly tuning into the needs of my patient.

I hope that when I return to work I am able to draw on the strengths that I learned from Julie, and I hope that my patient's feel the comfort in an otherwise scary situation that she gave me. Julie is an amazing nurse, and truly deserving of the DAISY Award.