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DAISY winner recognized for compassion under pressure by Heather Woolwine Public Relations When recent DAISY award winner LeslieVonLehe, R.N., entered the Children’s Hospital eighth floor conference room and realized that she’d been duped, it took a few minutes to pry her from the doorway.   LeslieVonLehe accepts flowers and a pin during a ceremony honoring her as the most recent DAISY winner. Visibly surprised and moved by so many gathered to honor her nursing efforts, VonLehe was even more shocked to see her husband in the room. “Well, hi handsome,” she said, “What are you doing here?”   The answer to VonLehe’s question was simple: her husband, along with coworkers and colleagues from other units in the Children’s Hospital, was there to honor her exemplary work in the neonatal intensive care unit (NNICU).   VonLehe’s nomination described a day in the NNICU where she was selected to care for a critically ill infant. The last six hours of the child’s life were spent in VonLehe’s care. Her nomination said, “I believe that this is because she is known both for her clinical expertise as well as her sincere human compassion. During those six hours, she expertly assessed the clinical needs of the patient, ensured that her pain was treated, adjusted medication drips as the child’s clinical status changed, accommodated the needs of a desperately worried father, and prepared the infant for cardio-respiratory bypass.”   When the infant’s status changed suddenly for the worse, VonLehe was cited for her quick action and expertise in assembling the necessary resources to treat her tiny patient. “We performed CPR for one-and-a-half hours while trying to complete the surgical procedure for beginning bypass,” the nomination said. “Ultimately, we were unsuccessful in saving the infant’s life. Yet, Leslie gave her all to the patient and her family on that day. She was competence, grace, and tenderness personified. I admire her for the expert nurse she has become.”    The DAISY award for extraordinary nurses is given by the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation and co-sponsored by Sandpiper Retirement Community, a continuum of care retirement community in Mount Pleasant. The award is given to an MUSC nurse who embodies the efforts and vast knowledge required of a nurse in today’s health care system.   All DAISY Award winners receive an African Shona Tribe sculpture entitled, “A Healer’s Touch,” a framed certificate, a daisy bouquet, and a DAISY Award pin. The DAISY Foundation also provides cinnamon rolls for all the nurses in the winner’s unit. MUSC is among 50 medical facilities honoring nurses with the DAISY Award. This is one initiative of the foundation whose overall goal is to help fight diseases of the immune system.     Friday, Feb. 2, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.