Gaby Otterness
May 2023
Gaby
Otterness
,
RN
Perdiatric Emergency
Piedmont Columbus Regional
Columbus
,
GA
United States

 

 

 

Gaby notified Police and EMS and stayed with the child, warming him and offering fluids and comfort, until their arrival.
Gaby was driving to the hospital in the midmorning to attend a peer interview. As she traveled down Veteran's Parkway, she became aware of an adolescent child standing in the middle of the road with a suitcase in hand, not appropriately clothed for the windy cold weather, disrupting traffic, and no one intervening. Gaby pulled over and assisted the child out of the roadway to a hotel lobby nearby. She quickly assessed the child and noted that he appeared dehydrated, cold, and bruised. He was also cognitively delayed and could not make safe decisions on his own. Gaby notified Police and EMS and stayed with the child, warming him and offering fluids and comfort, until their arrival. He was transported to our hospital and received treatment for multiple concerns before being transferred in "satisfactory condition." Again, Gaby was not on duty that day. She was coming in on her time off for an interview, but she stopped and took the time to intervene in this very dangerous situation. Otherwise, this child would most assuredly have been received as a trauma patient after being hit. She also took ownership of the scene and was able to get this child to safety using her training and intellect as a Pediatric RN to assess him and assist officials with decision-making. She quite literally saved his life in more ways than one and the biggest thing for me is, she didn't have to stop, but she did, and that's just Gaby's big heart at work!