Annie Bryan, one of our Same Day Surgery nurses, was finishing up her phone call shift and was leaving the PreOp area when she noticed a young man come out of the restroom and go into the PreOp activity center. She went in to make sure he was in the correct area as we had no patients left in this area. When she went over to him she immediately noticed that he was pale, diaphoretic, had an increased work of breathing and overall just looked sick.

After inquiring if he was a patient he stated how he was here with his brother who was having surgery and they had been here longer than he expected. She asked if he was ill and he stated how he was a diabetic and had not had his insulin or food throughout the day. Annie quickly put together that he was probably in DKA given the symptoms he was exhibiting. At this point his mother came to the area who stated they hadn't checked his blood sugar because they didn't bring his meter. Annie stated how he immediately needed to be seen, that he was very sick.

At this time the patient and mother were both stating he just needed some insulin and would be fine but Annie explained how serious the situation was, retrieved a wheel chair and took the patient to the ED. Another staff RN called the Clinical Leader to let them know he was coming and the fact he has been without insulin and looked very sick.

We were so impressed that Annie took the time to check in on the sibling when she saw him in the PreOp area instead of just walking by and leaving for the night. Taking the time to see if he needed anything allowed her to recognize his serious symptoms and she has personal experience with Diabetes as one of her sons is a Type I Diabetic.

Her quick assessment and actions led to him getting the medical help he desperately needed. The ER team truly believe Anne saved his life.