As an ICU nurse, I have been in many situations where my co-workers and I are the only ones standing in between a patient and the grave. Yesterday was one of those days. With less than 10 minutes warning, we received a patient into our unit. She had just had a baby, and she was hemorrhaging. All 5 nurses, plus myself, gathered into the room with the doctors... "We need more help!" was my cry. Although fully staffed, it took everyone working together to save one life. Our other 8 patients were also critically ill, but who was left to take care of them? Farooq rushed over to our unit. He started with the first beeping machine and worked his way through all the rooms of the unit. He sent off critical labs and checked blood sugars. He helped clean a patient. He helped the nurses in the unit get caught up on their routine morning tasks. Farooq doesn't work on our unit; he wasn't obligated to help us. He could have been too busy. I am sure there were plenty of things for him to do with the patients in his own unit, but that is not the kind of nurse Farooq is. This isn't the first time we have turned to him for help when things were difficult, and he has offered assistance every time. Any time he is walking through, he will take time to answer a ringing call bell or stop a beeping IV pump. He is a regular presence in nearly every unit on the Raleigh campus starting ultrasound-guided IVs. He is always available for every patient in WakeMed who needs a helping hand; the picture of an Extraordinary Nurse.