It truly is small acts of kindness that can so easily make a difference in someone's day. I work at Ochsner and have known this particular angel of a human being for some time now. My father was going in for a routine colonoscopy and needed to be dropped off and picked up. That morning I woke up with a terrible allergic reaction that covered me in itchy hives and disfigured my face with swelling. I knew though, that if I canceled on my Dad it would stress him out. I dropped my Dad off and asked him if I needed to go in to pick him up when I came back, and he said no. I then went to the ED to get checked out (thank you to my ED staff too). I should've known better since he was going under that they would ask me to come to the 4th floor of the hospital, the belly of the beast, to come get him. I am very self-conscious of my skin and appearance and really did not want to chance seeing folks I knew but would do this for my Dad. I texted Toni Brousse just because I wanted her to know that my Dad was there and to maybe keep him company/say hi while I was on my way after dealing with a very dire situation related to work. As you can pick up, this morning was not getting any better. Toni found my Dad and texted me that she could bring him down. I told her not to worry about it, but she called and said it was no problem. I never want to put our care team staff out. I pulled up and there was Toni and my Dad. My Dad said when she found him, she put her arm over his shoulder and said something like, "I'm gonna take care of you now." I definitely got out of the car and gave Toni a hug and Toni may be petite, but that hug felt like she had picked up the heavy load I had carried that morning and held it for a second for me. I needed that support that morning. I couldn't help but cry because it really meant the world to me at that moment. Again, I think the work our care teams do day in and day out is absolutely phenomenal without the "above and beyondness" they do out of the kindness of their hearts. When I used to work in the department that reviewed DAISY Awards, my concern was that we were nominating nurses who went so far and beyond their call of duty that I worried about their burnout and expectation overload. But I know for some of these folks, this fills their cup to fill others up when their patients and their community, need it outside of the scope of care that they administer every day. Thank you, Toni.

NOTE: This is Toni's second DAISY Award!