As a new veteran who served as a Medic in the Army, I found peace in medical transport. I’ve interacted with many wonderful nurses; however, recently, I personally witnessed Nurse Margaret Gurney go above and beyond her role as a nurse and healthcare professional in the emergency department. The patient was a 55 y/o male who had a history of mental illness and osteogenesis imperfecta, which left him nearly deaf. He was wheelchair-bound and only had a nurse who came to check on him once or twice a week. Margaret took it upon herself to write down questions to communicate with him, be patient when he didn’t understand, and provide quality care despite the barriers that arose. I didn’t realize how deeply she impacted this patient until I got him into the back of our ambulance.

I followed Nurse Gurney’s precedence and began typing questions onto my phone to communicate with him. We had a pretty long drive ahead of us, and this was when I learned how Margaret had truly gone above and beyond. The patient had his life forever altered as his mental health and chronic disease state declined. He lost custody of his children after undergoing a divorce and had no family left to care for him. In the back of the ambulance, he began to get emotional, talking about how months would go by without anyone checking on him. He voiced his loneliness and discontent with his life. A prisoner to his apartment, Nurse Gurney made his hospital visit the highlight of his year. Her simple acts of kindness and care for his physical and mental state gave him a reason to continue living. I don’t know if he would still be alive without her. The visible scars on his arm were a testament to his need to feel something, but I know there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that nurse Margaret Gurney cared for him.

When we dropped him off at his apartment, I realized I still had his keys in my pocket. Upon entering his home to return his keys, I saw the patient smoking his cigarette, smiling out the window as tears trickled down his face. When I gave him his keys, he told me that he would consider Nurse Margaret and myself his friends. I couldn’t help but cry after leaving his home, and Nurse Margaret should be recognized for going above and beyond for him. She not only impacted his life, but she also made a difference in mine.