Telva is a DAISY Nurse because of her kind manner, professional and exceptional care. She is outstanding inside and out, always smiling and happy. Telva is positive and hardworking. She encompasses all the qualities that make an excellent nurse. My brother and I travel from Tampa so that he can receive his chemo/radiation treatments here and all care. My brother has a malignant neoplasm of the larynx and I am his advocate as well as his mouthpiece. We live near another VA but travel here because of Telva. Telva always asks if we need a hotel or reservations at the building on site. I always refuse because we like sleeping in our own beds. My brother has a power port and I tried for 3 days to reach the clinic upstairs to have his blood work done. I called someone else first and she had the same issue as me. So, then I called Telva and she said no worries I will take care of it. And a few hours later I received a phone call stating that we had an appointment. On another occasion, I wanted to order one device to cover my brother's neck stoma when he showered and a device to clean the one that went in his stoma. I was told by OT that they didn't have any to give out. I dropped in to see Telva and she looked up the serial numbers online and placed an order to prosthetics and the supplies were delivered. At our last visit, I asked the doctor if we could get a medical alert pendant and she didn't know so I told her to ask Telva. She came in and asked us what we wanted it to say and placed the order.
She goes the extra mile when it comes to me and my brother. Not only does she take care of my brother but she takes care of me as well by lessening the burden. She even knows his social security number by heart. She exemplifies empathy and really cares about us, our health, and well-being. She has definitely renewed my faith in the VA Health Care system. I got so nervous and anxious when I called her voicemail and it said she was out on extended leave. I was so happy to see her smiling face walking down the hallway coming out to greet me and my brother at another appointment. I hugged her and told her to never leave that kind of message on her phone ever again since it scared me to death. Telva has been invaluable to us as we continue to battle against cancer. I am truly blessed to have her on our team.