A Patient experiencing many GSWs arrived by private car to the Wilmington Emergency Department in April. Immediately the ED staff acted, initiating care of the patient in a very unstable and critical condition. In between trauma assessments and efforts to stabilize, the staff were met with obstacle after obstacle in the patient's care. CPR was initiated in the ED multiple times and ROSC provided the ability for the ED staff to accompany their patient to the OR for handoff. ED staff stayed in the OR and again initiated CPR on the patient stabilizing him. ED staff returned to the ED when a call for help was made to go back and assist in another resuscitation for their patient in the OR. Members of the team RN Stringham, RN Neifert, RN Hogan, and RN Kushner returned to assist RN Coordinator Jenifer Rowe in continuing to safely provide trauma resuscitative CPR for over an hour to the patient in the OR. These members of the team were actively providing ACLS and compressions to their patient while the incredible surgeons were operating right under their fingertips. These sustained efforts by this ED Nursing team were unlike anything I have ever experienced in my 16 years in healthcare, 6 of which in this ED. These nurses make up an absolutely incredible group of individuals who worked tirelessly to sustain this young man’s life while he received surgery. The worry in my coworkers' eyes as the situation seemed grimmer by the minute is something I won’t ever forget. As nurses, we pour our hearts into our efforts to sustain life in these fragile scenarios and every moment counts. For the patient's privacy, not all that was experienced in that OR can be revealed. That is what stays with the nurse when they think of the patient. You walk out of work and that stays with you. What you gave of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally is not always recognized. I want to make sure that this team that night knows they will always be with me in my thoughts for the rest of my life. Every moment this patient has is a direct result of what they gave of themselves that night. The thing about this team is they would give that to anyone that comes in the door of the Wilmington Emergency Department without the blink of an eye. There are extraordinary nurses everywhere but what this group gave that night physically, manually, and tirelessly, was extraordinary in every action, every compression, every moment. I am so grateful to have been a part of this, to be their ANM, and to be a part of the Wilmington Emergency Department. 

This young man made it through many rounds of surgery and has gone beyond everyone's expectations already in his remarkable recovery. He is still being cared for by Christiana Care. The staff involved in this situation are overwhelmed with joy and amazed that this young man is still with us and making an incredible recovery.