Memorial Announces Raylee Istre, RN August DAISY Foundation Award Winner

Congratulations to Raylee Istre, a registered nurse on 3T who was our August DAISY Foundation recipient. Click here to read more about Raylee.

From the nominator:

I would like to recognize Raylee, our nurse who cared for my father in the ICU. He was there for approximately 6 days with several large blood clots in his lungs and a DVT in his leg. During this time, the outcome for my father was unknown but Raylee was there for my family in so many different ways. Every time she entered the room she did so with a warm smile asking how he was doing, but also how we were doing. She was patient and kind as we asked 1,000 questions about my father’s care and prognosis. She kept us updated and informed along the way of any updates from his amazing doctor and any changes in his course of therapy. During a time of uncertainty and anxiety, Raylee was a “ray of sunshine”. I will never forget her being there for my father and our family. Thank you, Raylee! I am also pleased to say my father is home and recovering nicely.

About DAISY

In late 1999, at the age of 33, Patrick Barnes awoke with some blood blisters in his mouth. Having survived Hodgkins Disease twice, he was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with the auto-immune disease, ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura).

Said his father, Mark Barnes, "We are so blessed that we were able to spend the eight weeks of his hospitalization with him and his family. During those weeks, we experienced the best of Nursing. We were there to see the clinical skill that dealt with his very complex medical situation, the fast thinking of nurses who saved his life more than once, and that nursing excellence that took years to hone to the best of the profession. But frankly, as a patient family, we rather expected that Pat would have great clinical care. That was why he was in the hospital. What we did not expect was the way his nurses delivered that care - the kindness and compassion they gave Pat and all of us in his family every day. We were awed by the way the nurses touched him and spoke with him, even when he was on a ventilator and totally sedated. The way they informed and educated us eased our minds. They truly helped us through the darkest hours of our lives, with soft voices of hope and strong loving hugs that to this day, we still feel."

Just days after he died, the family began talking about what they would do to help fill the giant hole in their hearts that Pat’s passing had left. His wife came up with the acronym, DAISY, standing for diseases attacking the immune system. As they discussed what to do in Patrick’s memory, first and foremost, they wanted to say Thank You for the gifts nurses give their patients and families every day. That is when the family created The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses.