A man and his wife came to our emergency department and she needed to be admitted for exacerbation of COPD and asthma. While waiting with his wife, the husband mentioned to her that he was having a bit of numbness on the side of his face. He didn't think much of it and it didn't seem to be getting "worse". His wife's nurse, Stacy, overheard them and asked him to please have it "checked". He was compelled by the nurse's sincerity of concern and did have it checked. Both the husband and wife ended up being admitted and he was scheduled for brain surgery the following morning. You can imagine what a hardship this was for them.
The husband asked if he could see his wife before going to surgery, but knew that based on their conditions and needs, that simply could not happen. A couple of nurses had a plan! Shortly before heading down to surgery, a team of people pushed the wife's bed to the husband's room. They spent about 15 minutes together before he had to leave for surgery. The husband shared that he was extremely touched by the extraordinary care they received in the hospital. In his words, "It was life-changing". He couldn't express the relief he had upon seeing his wife prior to surgery, and it was very apparent that it meant the world to him.