“I am writing this letter in hopes of bringing well-deserved attention to a nurse on the 9th floor burn/ICU in the Clarkson Building. Although all the nurses seemed very professional and helpful, Kelly Wallace easily and gracefully stepped well above any other nurse that I have ever come in contact with. Unfortunately, I have seen way too many during my wife’s fight with cancer—now for the third time.
“Something I’ve noticed is that most all the hospitals I’ve come in contact with seem to coach their staff to be extremely polite, professional and helpful. This seems, for the most part, to be accomplished at the hospitals we’ve been to. But Kelly impressed myself and my family tremendously.
“Kelly seems to just have a way about her that I hope never changes. I noticed that when Kelly came into the room, Lynett would seem to calm down and truly listen to what Kelly was saying. She would explain things, and praise Lynett which would calm her down, even though we found out later that for the first 10 days Lynett doesn’t remember anything about her experience in Omaha. Even with that though, Kelly’s voice put Lynett at ease, and made her feel not as scared, even though she realizes that she is terminal and probably won’t have much time on this earth.
“Kelly also impressed us because we felt she went above and beyond with her duties and it seemed she could almost read our minds with any questions we might have. If she didn’t know an answer to our questions, she found it out for us. My unprofessional opinion is that if Kelly were to ever have the opportunity to teach others, not only about nursing but also about compassion, I don’t think you would find none better.
“When I was leaving Omaha to head back home, I found a flyer that mentioned something about the DAISY award. Although I am naïve to exactly what this award is, Kelly in my opinion (and all of my family) deserves this award. I am truly impressed and very thankful for her being there for Lynett.
“As you can see, I write from my heart about the importance of Kelly being at Clarkson hospital and being able to somehow spread her sincerity and knowledge to others. I don’t have all the answers, but I do hope that you consider Kelly Wallace for the DAISY award, and please tell her for us how much she has made an impact on myself and my family. Kelly made Lynett’s journey a little easier to handle (not believing that would be possible) and we wish her the best.
Sincerely,
Tim Wood & Family
Room 9814”