A couple travelling from Canada to Florida found themselves in our ER as the husband fell ill during the trip. He wound up needing emergency surgery. It was reported to me that neither the patient nor his wife spoke English as they were French Canadians from Quebec. Up to that point the translation phone services had been utilized.

Kim Beatty, our CRNA at the time, remembered that there was a nurse in LDRP who was French and might be able to assist us with translation. I phoned LDRP and spoke to the Resource/Charge RN Cindy Berger and explained the situation. Cindy was very gracious in allowing her nurse the time to come to our department for assistance. She put me in contact with Paty Walling, who needless to say, was thrilled to be able to offer her native tongue and time. I told her I would call her when the patient arrived in the O.R..

The patient and his wife arrived just a few moments before Paty. There were cursory attempts at communication, but you could see in both the patient and his wife that there was great concern and stress related to the communication barrier. It was visible not only on their faces, but in their body language as well.

Paty arrived and began walking toward them and speaking French. It was astonishing and amazing to see the anxiety melt away. Their faces lit up and their shoulders relaxed. You could see the color return to their faces as they released a breath with a sigh. They were delighted to be conversing in their own language.

Paty listened carefully and attentively to both the O.R. team and the patient and his wife. She patiently translated our questions and their responses and concerns, being sure that all parties were well informed. She agreed to accompany the husband into the O.R. during the intubation process, and was careful to reassure both the patient and his wife that each of them would be well cared for. We then took the patient into the O.R. suite and asked the wife to wait at the front desk during this time as Paty would then escort her to the waiting area.

Once the patient was asleep, I thanked Paty for her assistance, and she left to accompany the wife to the waiting area. After about 45 minutes, I phoned Paty to thank her again for her help and found that she was still with the patient's wife. As the waiting area can be desolate at night, I was pleased to learn that Paty had stayed to offer comfort and support.

The patient did well during surgery, and ultimately Paty went to PACU to assist them with translation as well. The patient was admitted to CCU, and I later found out that a team member on that unit spoke French and was able to continue to provide additional verbal support.

I know that the translation services offered by phone are helpful when language barriers exist (I've had occasion to use them), however the face-to-face, personal attention that we were able to give was, I'm sure, paramount to a positive outcome and experience for this family.

I wanted to thank Cindy Berger for making arrangements for Paty to be available to us for the duration of the families peri-operative experience. We have built a very good working relationship through mutual respect and she is always willing to lend a hand.

Finally, how can I possibly express my gratitude to Paty Walling. She is an excellent nurse, but more importantly she is kind, caring and considerate. She is generous with her time and intuitive when it really mattered.