A sweet patient was admitted to our unit. At the time, no one knew that she would be with us for over 60 days. When she first arrived, she was practically immobile and had much difficulty communicating due to her history of stroke. All she could say was "Katie coming" no matter how hard she tried to communicate with other words. She would often cry in frustration or anger at her situation. Then in came Debbie McLendon.

As PCL for Street 1, she oversees the plans of care for all patients daily, coordinating care, speaking with physicians, and leading our nurses to give the best care possible. When it became obvious that this patient would not be discharged any time soon, Debbie took it upon herself to turn Street 1 into a little rehab for the patient. Debbie quickly got physical therapy involved, working with the patient 3 times a week. Each day Debbie would set small goals for the patient and nurse assigned to her such as having the patient try to sit up just for 5 minutes at a time. Slowly but surely the patient began to gain strength. She went from having to be turned every 2 hours due to immobility, to dangling her legs for 5 minutes, to sitting in a chair for 30 minutes, to attempting to walk with a walker.

There was not a dry eye around when we witnessed the patient walk all the way down a hallway with a hemi-walker. The patient was cheering herself and we all cheered with her. She not only had gained physical strength back, but she gained something far more valuable: self-confidence and joy! Had Debbie not intervened so early, I am not sure the patient's outcome would have been so outstanding.