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"My daughter would scream a blood curdling scream and cry and kick."

The Nursing Professional Governance Organization (NPGO) honors up to two UVA Health University Medical Center nurses each month with a DAISY Award. Associate Chief Nursing Officer Karin Skeen, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, and DAISY Award Committee Vice Chair Crystal Richard, MSN, RN, CCRN, surprised Catherine Lehman, RN, with the award at UVA Health Children's, 5th Floor, Battle Building.

A patient's family member nominated Lehman:

"My 4-year-old daughter has high risk B-ALL [b-cell acute lymphoid leukemia] and has a central line port in her chest that needs to be accessed weekly. She was terrified to have it done every week, until she met Catherine — with her gentle, understanding, and confident presence. She doesn't rush my daughter — she talks to her, tells stories, and makes her feel comfortable. She takes time to have a relationship with her.

"There have been many positive experiences with my daughter's care, but I will recount the first one. She curled up in a ball and was refusing to let any of the nurses come near her. When they did, my daughter would scream a blood curdling scream and cry and kick. Catherine stayed in silence and then finally spoke gently and calmed my daughter down. She approached her and had my daughter join her in her own care. They worked together as a team that day and took some of the fear away from getting accessed each week.

"Accessing her port is the most stressful part of the cancer treatment for her. We eventually were able to move away from having just Catherine do it, but without the care and love from her, we could have never overcome it and trusted the other nurses. She 100% is an exceptional pediatric nurse and I hope she is recognized for her excellence of care for these beautiful children who are going through this suffering."  

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"DAISY" stands for "Diseases Attacking the Immune System." The DAISY Award was established by The DAISY Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of only 33 of an autoimmune disease. The Barnes Family was awestruck by the clinical skills, caring, and compassion of his nurses, so they created this national award to thank nurses everywhere.

At UVA Health University Medical Center — patients or their families, visitors, and team members may submit a DAISY Award nomination.