Recently, the ED received a trauma patient. I was the nurse working on the trauma assignment. Devin, the Clinical Coordinator, came to document as normal. The patient was not seriously injured in the car accident but his wife had died next to him in the car. The Chaplain was called in. Devin, myself and the Chaplain attempted to have therapeutic conversations with the patient but we were unsuccessful in getting through to him. It was necessary for me to eventually leave this patient to tend to other patients. Devin chose to stay with him even though it was past time for her to go home to her family. The patient's family had been notified but it would be hours before they could get here. The patient was set to be released since he no longer required emergency services.
Devin was concerned for this patient being left alone for hours waiting for his family and dwelling on the loss of his wife. She remembered his dog had been in the car and had survived the accident. She tracked the dog to a local animal shelter and discovered that it was uninjured. She proceeded to get administrative approval to bring his dog to a non-patient area so he would not be all alone while waiting for his family. After picking up the dog at the shelter, she returned to the ED and set up space in the doctors' workroom for the patient to wait for his family.
When the patient saw his dog, there was not a dry eye in the room. Before leaving that night, I went to check on the patient and he expressed how truly thankful he was to Devin and how happy it made him to be reunited with his dog.