Margaret Williams, BSN, RN

After several months on the unit, a patient expressed to Mary that she wanted to go outside. The patient was medically complex, and a trip outdoors would require lots of planning and lots of hands to do so safely. On Easter Sunday, Mary assembled a team to help take her patient outside and allow her to enjoy the sun. Not only did Mary go above and beyond the call of duty to fulfill her patient's wish to see the sun – one we take for granted all too often – she executed it safely and thoroughly, considering all possible outcomes and being prepared to meet her patient's needs in a setting away from the unit. This ultimately became the final time her patient got to experience the outdoors. Without Mary's planning, persistence, and compassion, her patient may have lived the rest of her days without feeling the sun on her face; something everyone deserves.