We celebrate the DAISY award at RUSK twice a year and this past nurses week we celebrated an unforgettable story and nurse.

Richard expressed his gratitude for Alicia by stating:

First off, we want to say thank you for inviting us to this ceremony honoring Sunil. We are so happy to be a part of this day.

We wanted to share with you why we believe Sunil is so deserving of the Daisy Award. All nurses leave lasting impacts on families. Some big, some small, some positive, and some negative. Sunil definitely left a huge, positive impact on ours. Sunil goes above and beyond the expectations of a nurse. We will forever have a special place for him in our hearts.

Mom arrived at Rusk on November 15^th. Sunil was one of mom’s “weekend” nurses. You could tell that when he came to work his patients were at the forefront of his mind. From the moment he began his shift to the very last minute he stepped out the door, he had a lasting energy and did his job well. He has such an energy about him that radiates positivity and kindness. Not only would he complete his typical nursing duties (moving patients from beds to wheelchairs & vice versa, assisting in bathroom needs, making meal checks to see if patients were eating, vital sign checks, charting, etc…), he also made time to invest in the patient and their families.  Sunil would “hang out” in mom’s room getting to know all of us more. We looked forward to coming and visiting her on the weekends partly because we knew he would be her nurse. For a family who is struggling to grasp the life changes that have just occurred, he had way of taking our minds off the worries. He gave fashion advice to my daughters, joked and laughed with us, brought us ice cream, sodas, or anything we needed, and helped entertain our youngest son, Maddox who is 6. The relationship he developed with Maddox was unforgettable. Coming to a place like Rusk is hard on anyone, especially a 6 year old. Sunil bonded with Maddox immediately and helped ease the burden on all of us. They “charted” together, swapped cell phones, had rolly chair races, had shoe tying lessons, and pretty much anything Maddox wanted Sunil got for him. Needless to say, he spoiled him, but that is exactly what Maddox needed at this hard-to-understand moment of his life.

We will forever be grateful for the care mom received from Sunil, and the relationship he has built with our family.  We are so proud he is the honoree of this award. I know you all have heard someone say, “God places people in our lives for a reason at just the right time.” Well, God knew which nurse we needed at this moment and for our time at Rusk, Sunil was that nurse.

Congratulations,
Shirley Meier
Phillip, Candace, Madeline, Molly, & Maddox Norton