In order to share Molly's story, I must start with the background of my mother's story. My mother had been diagnosed with end-stage COPD complicated with additional health issues prior to this admission. She is a CO2 retainer with a history of acute exacerbation requiring inpatient hospital stays with intubation on three separate occasions over the prior 18 months.
My sister found herself in the all too familiar situation of transporting mom to the local hospital Emergency Room for evaluation of her confused and lethargic state. Within a few hours, mom became hard to rouse and the decision was made to intubate once again and to transport her to Aurora BayCare Medical Center. A few days into her stay at your hospital, we were blessed to have met Molly. I am confident that you receive countless stories of how a member of your nursing staff was "compassionate, caring, comforting, knowledgeable and skilled."
Molly fits that description perfectly but there was one event that will stay in my memory for a long time to come. Our mother was not given the best prognosis, in fact only about a 25% chance of successfully extubating. Through my sister's and my tears and anxiousness, we hesitantly needed to step away from mom's room for a short time to process this information. Upon returning after about 20 minutes, we walked into mom's room to find Molly holding mom's restrained hand and talking to her. During her sedation weaning trial, mom had become very restless, uncomfortable and agitated until Molly's calming presence relaxed her. Seeing a complete stranger show as much compassion to our dear mother as we, our own daughters, would have shown her was truly heartwarming.
Even though mom was completely sedated during Molly's time with her, Molly always paused, leaned in, looked mom in the face and explained the cares she would be performing. Molly, thank you! Thank you for being there when mom needed you. Thank you for taking such good care of her, emotionally and physically. Thank you for making us laugh when everything looked so grim. Thank you for communicating with us and mom so thoroughly and clearly. Thank you for showing genuine concern for her wellbeing and utter respect to her as a person. Thank you for helping us talk through some of the situations that we were faced with. Thank you for treating all of us like we were part of your family. Thank you for being Molly! You will not be forgotten.

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