A patient arrived in the Emergency Department complaining of leg pain. He was, in fact, experiencing his fifth heart attack and was transferred to 2C. When he got to the floor, he was assigned to the care of Ann Huxtable-Heller, RN.

The patient was in severe pain and very frightened that the leg pain was secondary to a clot. Ann took the time to listen to the patient and make the appropriate assessment. The patient reported numbness, tingling and loss of sensation in his right leg. She found the right foot cold to touch and used a Doppler to assess for popliteal and pedal pulses (both negative). When pulses were not found, Ann brought in a second RN to double check her work. Additionally, Ann ran the entire scenario past the charge nurse to ensure she was on target with her assessment.

Ann notified the cardiologist who quickly notified the vascular surgeon, and Ann was instructed to prepare the patient for surgery. The patient had a large clot removed and was informed by his surgeon that he was very lucky. The patient attributed his "luck" to the diligence of Ann Huxtable-Heller.

I am very proud of the sensitivity, communication, clinical skills and rapidity with which Ann acted to save the life of this patient. The patient cannot say enough about how grateful he is to Ann for listening to him and acting so that he could go home to his teenage son.