This Is Why I’m a Nurse: Michelle Zaske
I was on my way to work one day. It was winter. I was almost to the hospital, over by the tech colleges. I saw somebody out of the corner of my eye. He was kind of hopping. Traffic was really busy, so I wasn’t really paying attention to him. But then I saw him fall and roll down the hill by his house. So I pulled over and ran to him. There was a young gentleman in a pick-up truck that pulled over, too.
“We have those moments in nursing where you wonder why God put you in that spot.”
It turns out the man who fell was 90-some years old. He broke his hip. It was freezing outside. We tried to keep him warm. Thank God the young man and someone else who pulled over could stay with him until the ambulance got there. I went on to the hospital where I worked in the PACU and I said, “We’re going to have an add-on today. He’s 90-some years old. He’s got a hip…”
The man got to the ER, did his labs, and then got to pre-op and he remembered me. Before he went in, he said, “Oh, you’re the angel who ran up to me in the snow!”
When he came out, I got to post him and work with him for a while. Then later that night around 10:30, we sent him up. I really had a good feeling that he was going to make it and things were going to be fine. I talked to his family. I had a good feeling.
The next day, I was working with another patient and was transferring them to that unit. I looked at the number on the chart and was just overwhelmed. I said to myself, “This can’t be right. This can’t be the right room number.” I had to remove myself from my patient and have someone watch him. I just needed a moment.
The 90-year old man passed away during the night. He made it a couple of hours upstairs and then took a turn. We have those moments in nursing when I wonder, “Why did God put me in that spot?” I had worked in orthopedics. I had worked in anticoagulation. I thought I was put in that spot that day because I was supposed to save his life. But in retrospect, it gave time for his wife and all of his family to be there with him and say good-bye.
My first question was, “Was he warm and comfortable?” I just want my patients to be comfortable. So, when I look at that moment, I didn’t fail anything. It wasn’t supposed to be. Whether the outcome is the one we wanted or not, we can make a difference. We can make somebody’s life more positive, no matter what their situation is. That’s why I’m a nurse.
Michelle Zaske RN, MSN, CNML
Supervisor Outpatient Endoscopy