I was working at the Prescott VA in the Grounds Division when I had an accident and instantly amputated my left index finger on a piece of machinery. My boss rushed me over to the ER. Needless to say, I was bleeding and in a great deal of pain and stress, already knowing the end of my finger was amputated. I was immediately seen and cared for by a fantastic nurse, Amy Jo. She took action right away, examining my hand and arranging for pain medication. The doctor came to me quickly as well, looking over my finger and the amputated section. He quickly made the determination that the end of my finger could not be reattached. He explained to me in detail why this was not possible due to the major crushing damage to all the tissue, blood vessels, and nerves that occurred.
 
About then, my wife arrived. The same nurse was very kind to her as well, making sure she was up to date on what happened and comfortable in the room. All the while, she made sure she informed me constantly what she was doing and why as she cleaned my hand and prepped it for surgery. The doctor came back, and again explained everything to my wife and let us both know that the bone sticking out needed to be cut and then the skin would be folded over and sewn. During the procedure, the doctor and the nurse stopped a couple of times to administer more pain meds to make me comfortable and continued to check on my wife. The doctor told me to expect another surgery by a plastic surgeon in the future after swelling went down. He said he wanted to leave as much tissue as possible for the plastic surgeon to work with, so it might not "look pretty" right now. The entire time we were there, the doctor and nurse were highly professional and caring, advising us what they were doing and why. The doctor made the appointment himself for follow-up the next day with a plastic surgeon who specialized in hands. The nurse gave my wife detailed instructions on my medications and dressing. 
 
The next day, the plastic surgeon's office informed me that the ER doctor did such a fantastic job in sewing up my finger, that it was highly unlikely I would need a second surgery. She said she couldn't have done a better job herself. I just wanted to take the time to thank the nurse and doctor for their phenomenal service and skill that day. I felt they went above and beyond in the patient care department, and their experience and skill certainly showed. I feel very lucky to have been treated by them both on a day that was so traumatic for me. Please pass on my sincere thanks to both of them.