When the patient arrived at Atrium CMC in Charlotte, NC, with a broken back and damaged spinal cord, his future seemed quite bleak, to say the least. His debilitating injury resulted from an accidental fall due to a poor decision he made as he was already hopeless and careless prior to his paralysis. That morning, he woke up on unit 11-A after his spinal fusion surgery, and the reality and the severity of his affliction really began to set in. He was paralyzed from the waist down and informed he would probably never be able to walk again by the doctors that performed my operation. He began to shut down emotionally almost immediately. Upon hearing this news, he met Kathleen Mescall, the clinical nurse leader of unit 11-A. He wheeled himself into her office and pled his case for not wanting to just become a statistic and fall into the cracks of the nursing home system. He had no idea that speaking with her on that day would forever change his life.

Kathleen could tell how serious he was about trying his best to persevere even with all of life’s chips stacked against him. When Kathleen said she would help to advocate for him, he had no earthly idea how hard she intended to. This incredibly brave, strong, and extremely accomplished woman would dawn a suit of armor and wield her sword and shield to stand next to him in the fight for his future and his well-being. First, Kathleen did her due diligence in researching programs and resources that he could use for his recovery and benefit. Under her guidance, he got accepted into a program called “money follows the person”. This is a program that will help him procure a safe and accessible home for him to begin to rebuild his now optimistic future. Kathleen then reached out to the local physical rehabilitation clinic and, using her limitless knowledge of the healthcare system, was able to get him into outpatient rehabilitation treatment sessions as an inpatient. He is the first to do so.

Kathleen then informed him of a grant that he could apply for to earn $2000 to pay for said treatments, which he did and received. Each of these days, Kathleen orchestrates his transportation to and from rehab. All while doing these noble acts for him, she has also been quite charitable and accommodating. Kathleen has spent her own money on toiletries and clothing for him as he had nothing coming into this hospital. Kathleen even takes his clothes home to wash and fold them in her own free time. Kathleen got him the most beautiful birthday cake he had ever received and made sure he felt special on his birthday with balloons and gifts. She has also gone out of her way and got JI, an outpatient Botox treatment for his tone and spasticity in his legs, another first for one who is currently considered impatient. A completely remarkable thing Kathleen has done is advocating for him to have custom knee ankle foot orthotics (KAFO) leg braces developed and fabricated for him. With Kathleen’s help, he can now walk again with assistance! Kathleen encourages him daily to keep it up.