leila lopes | DAISY Foundation

One Saturday morning, Leila was caring for a man at the end of his life. His wife and two daughters were at the bedside hopelessly and helplessly watching his life come to an end. She could tell that this man had a tremendous impact on all of their lives as they shared stories of his humor and his love. To say he would be sorely missed was an understatement. While Leila was doing her routine rounding, she overheard the family talking with the patient about how the DQ Peanut Buster Parfaits are their “go to” snacks during times of stress and how they wished that DQ delivered because they could really use one “right now”. The entire family chuckled in agreement. Leila stepped out of the room and decided to call the closest DQ. She contacted a local Dairy Queen to see about having them deliver a DQ Peanut Buster Parfait to her dying patient and his family. Leila spoke with the Manager and explained what was occurring and that this family wanted this DQ treat. Leila knew this was a stretch to ask DQ for this plus a delivery. To her surprise, within 30 minutes, four Peanut Buster Parfaits were delivered to the hospital. This gesture moved the family to tears. Such a simple treat was a tremendous blessing. Within an hour of the delivery and the family enjoying the treats together, the patient took his last breath and the family was extremely grateful for this ray of happiness during one of the most difficult days of their lives. Leila then went on to write a letter about the DQ Manager to the DQ National Office recognizing the Manager for what she had done. It was the DQ National Consumer Relations Specialist who made the hospital aware of Leila going above and beyond her call of duty.