The gentleman who was admitted to our inpatient unit at Hospice was in respiratory distress, exacerbated by severe urinary retention. “That,” I promised him, “will be a quick fix. I’ll just slip this foley in and you’ll get immediate relief.” After several tries, I realized I was up against something I’d never experienced in my 30 years of nursing. I call our PA for assistance. Both she and the physician who was called in from home were unsuccessful.

While the clinicians were giving it their all, I was busy making phone calls to the ER, OR, ICU, CS… In a last ditch effort, a call was made to NICU. “Why don’t you try a 6 French infant feeding tube? Patsy Dudley suggested. “Because there is no balloon, you might be able to thread it where no foley will go.” We decided to give it a try and I sent my CNA on yet another run to the hospital for a package of hope.

Assuming that none of us had ever used an infant feeding tube as a foley catheter, Patsy not only had the tube ready for us, she had several packages of doohickies and thinamijigs with very precisely written instructions on which whatchamacallit to connect to which thingymabob. The procedure was a success and 1400ccs later, my patient slept comfortably while I proudly displayed to the oncoming charge nurse, a urinary drainage system that looked like a cross between Tinker Toys and the game Mouse Trap.

We all know well the difference a strong team player makes. That day, for a brief time, Patsy joined our team at the opposite end of life’s continuum and it made all the difference in the world.