Recently, a patient scheduled for an outpatient procedure was very late for her appointment. After several failed attempts to reach her, she finally arrived two hours after her initial scheduled time. She and her niece explained how she, the patient, had been awoken that same morning at 2 am by her grandson telling her the house was on fire.
It turned out we were unable to reach the patient because her cell phone, along with all of her possessions were lost in the fire. While in her procedure, some of the SDS/OR staff members decided to help one of their patients in need. We spoke to the niece and arranged a time when she would "trick" the aunt back to Methodist so we could present her with a love gift.
Two weeks later the aunt and the niece returned and the team gave her the donated monies. This team has often gone above and beyond for others. We have paid for discharge medications for those who could not afford it, but this time was different. We were so grateful to meet someone who had gone through such a tragedy but was still able and willing to show up for her procedure with a smile and thanking God she and her grandson were still alive!