Carol Brizzolara, RN IV, H4 – Trauma/SICU/CVICU
Please join the Center for Nursing Excellence in congratulating Carol Brizzolara, RN IV, for being selected as the DAISY Award recipient for the month of April!
Carol Brizzolara, RN IV, works on H4 – Trauma/SICU/CVICU and was nominated by a patient. The nomination below reflects how Carol impacted their life in a very special way.
Nomination: I went in for what I thought was going to be a quick and easy laparoscopic procedure; however, it turned out to be more significant and I ended up opened up with a full incision, then I didn’t come out of the anesthesia well and needed to be intubated for several days. The first day I was extubated I was talking to my new night, ICU nurse, Carol, and I mentioned that I was worried about my dog, whom I had left in one room of my house with some food and water. Remember that I thought my surgery and recovery were going to be quick. My family is all in Colorado and I had no one here in Arkansas with a key to my house to check on my dog, Picabo. Carol immediately offered to go check on Picabo in the morning after working all night long. She did this even after finding out that I lived more than 50 minutes away in Pine Bluff. So, she worked with me all night long on Christmas Eve, and then she went to check on my dog Christmas morning. She cleaned up all the mess from days being locked in a room of my house and left my dog with several days’ worth of food and water. We couldn’t leave my dog outside during these days, because these were the days of the arctic cold Arkansas experienced around Christmas this year. After helping my dog, Carol then returned to work Christmas night and shared pictures and a video of Picabo and the mess she had made in my home. Days passed and my recovery continued to be slow, so Carol again went to check on my dog. She bought two bags of dog food, a big bone, and some other dog treats. The weather had warmed, so we were then able to leave Picabo run in the back yard to sleep in her doghouse. We also arranged a meeting between Carol and a neighbor of mine to hand over my house keys, so he could continue to make sure Picabo had adequate food and water every day. Please see the attached pictures of Carol with my dog. My dog had made quite the mess each time in my house and Carol helped by cleaning everything up and making sure my dog was okay. During my weeklong stay at UAMS, Carol continued to check on me in the hospital by coming as a visitor to make sure I was okay after I left the ICU. I also have her number to contact her if Picabo or I need anything and my neighbor knows to call her, as well. I not only had a great nurse taking care of me, I met a new friend, who has come alongside and helped me during a difficult recovery. She was a Christmas Godsend for me. There are not many nurses like Carol. Oh, and one more thing, my neighbors are all scared of Picabo. She doesn’t always take well to strangers, but Carol and Picabo got on just fine.
Great job, Carol!
To learn more about The DAISY Award or to nominate a deserving licensed nurse, please visit: DAISY Award