We had a patient on the unit who was from a local facility and he was returning later that evening. He was very depressed about this and began to explain to Sam why he was feeling this way. He expressed that he was worried that he was not going to live much longer.
Later that evening just a few hours before he was scheduled to be picked up, it began to rain. This made him even more despondent; Sam began to talk with him, and he stated that the facility that he lived in did not allow him to go outside often and never when it was raining. Most of his time was spent alone in his room and he wished that he could go outside one last time and feel the rain.
Sam was very moved by this and told us his story in the nurse's station, though we were all moved by his story we were swamped and preparing for new admissions. However, once Sam had a free moment she took her patient outside so that he could have this experience. Later that afternoon I went back into his room to help him and asked him how was his trip outside; he couldn't contain himself and was so thankful for this. I really do think Sam made a real difference for this patient during his stay here.