The Daisy Foundation

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). Pat and his wife, Tena, had just had their first child two months before he became sick.  

After his death, his family wanted to do something in Patrick's memory and knew that first and foremost, they wanted to say Thank You for the gifts nurses give their patients and families every day, just as they had experienced.

Tena came up with the acronym, DAISY, standing for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem and the family filed papers to become a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.