We had a patient coming to our ambulatory surgery unit for comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia. The patient was a 19-year-old autistic, nonverbal female with a history of acting out when anxious, especially when in a strange environment. We already had to cancel her surgery the week before because she got severely anxious and upset when her parents attempted to get her into the building. This time, she had been given Haldol and was somewhat calmer; we had arranged for her to have her preop done in a quiet area of the PACU to decrease the amount of stimulus and people around her.

Patricia Delyra was assigned to her as the preop nurse; she spent time outside with the patient's father who came to register the patient while her mother kept her in the car. She was able to convince the patient to leave the car and go into the PACU spot with both of her parents, which the mother stated was "a miracle" compared to other hospital and doctor visits. The patient was edgy, pacing around, and had trouble settling down. Patti was calm and patient with her, got her to take oral Versed that was ordered to help keep her calm, and was able to get her dressed in a hospital gown and onto a stretcher. While doing the assessment and preop checklist with her parents, Patti continued to quietly talk to the patient and hold her hand at times.

After the patient was taken to the OR, Patti volunteered to take care of her postop so that the patient would have a familiar person with her when coming out of anesthesia. The post-op experience went very well; with both parents and Patti at her bedside, the patient remained calm, was cooperative about drinking fluids, and got discharged without incident. Both of her parents were extremely grateful to our whole unit for the sensitive and caring experience and were glowing in their praise and thanks to Patti.