Sara works in a chief of surgery’s practice where she takes care of patients pre-operatively and post-operatively. One of the surgeon’s long-time patients made an appointment. He hadn’t been to the office for quite some time, so when he came in on a stretcher from a rehabilitation facility, they were all surprised.

He had an enterocutaneous fistula, which is an abnormal connection or opening between the intestinal tract and the skin. As a result, contents from the intestines leak through to the skin, creating an extremely uncomfortable irritation that is very difficult to manage.

During that visit, Sara asked a wound care nurse to MacGyver an appliance that would help the patient manage his symptoms until his fistula could be closed up. And within a week, they’d set up him up for surgery to do just that. Sara worked with staff at the rehab centre to transfer him to the hospital, and with his insurance companies to make sure that everything was going to be covered.

When he came into the office again for his post-operative visit, Sara couldn’t believe her eyes. He walked in and sat at the edge of the examination table like nothing had happened. He was with his son and smiling ear to ear. And his abdominal wounds were healing perfectly.

When she asked how he was doing, he looked at her and said, ‘Even though the doctor did my surgery, you saved my life.’ With tears in his eyes, he told her that he’d gone from having no will to live to now having plans to travel and enjoy the rest of his life. Sara sat down next to him and they both cried tears of joy. Sara said “I’ll never forget how it felt to see such a difference in someone’s life knowing I was part of it. It’s moments like these that make me proud to be a nurse.”

—Sara Portnoy, RN, nurse coordinator at Overlook Surgical Associates in Summit, New Jersey