I hope you know what a consummate patient advocate you have in nurse Karen Embrey. I thought this from the first day we met. I found out I needed to begin IV antibiotic infusions immediately and it was about 4 pm. My doctor and his nurse did not hesitate. He said, "Call Karen, she'll get her in." I was impressed that he knew the first name of the infusion nurse and that he was completely confident I could be seen that day!
I learned that Karen was about to leave for the day but told them to tell me to come straight to the infusion center and she would be waiting for me. When I arrived, she was ready! She bombarded me with information and instructions, a whole month of appointments, and my infusions and pre-op instructions to get a PICC line inserted the very next day. Very overwhelming but so reassuring that in my own community there are professionals who are so dedicated to our well-being that they will go above and beyond stay late when they could be home with their families. To help someone in need, sure, it's her job, but I know all of us can think of examples of workers in service industries who do the minimum to get by.
Since then, I have been to the infusion center daily. I can hear Karen interact with patients in person and on the phone. She is understanding and accommodating always. She gets it that we patients are in an unnatural setting/situation she strives to make sure we are well cared for. She is highly skilled; she handles our access ports very competently. She knows the standards that are expected in the management of our ports and overall care and exceeds them. One day, 3 other patients and I showed up at the same time and Karen did not miss a step; we were all in chairs and some part of our treatments began within minutes. I consider Karen my nurse, she has shown me kindness and respect, making this low time in my life so much easier to get through.

Note: This is Karen's 2nd DAISY Award!