Saving lives...

I just found out this morning that I saved a life. Really - I literally saved a life. I am so moved by this, I still can hardly believe it's true.

For those that do not know, I work for a home health company. We provide skilled care to folks who have a difficult time getting out of the home; intermittent visits provided to help keep them out of the hospital. I'm in the office full-time, Monday-Friday, and take call every other week in the evenings. Well this last Friday night, movie night with the hubby was interrupted by a frantic call of one of our patients.

I could hear her panting on the phone, hardly able to breathe or get any words out. She wanted to speak with her nurse (who was not on call with me), complaining that she couldn't breathe. I told her that I would have the on call RN call her immediately, and that she should hang up her phone. After hanging up the phone, I realized that I should not have even hung up on her. I should have told her to call 911 immediately. Regretfully, I contacted the on call nurse, who did not answer her phone right away. Called again - went to voice mail a second time. Without hesitation, I called back the client and told her she needed to call 911 immediately. She didn't want to, stating that if she did, the EMS would want to take her to the hospital. I explained to her that our nurse couldn't help her with her breathing, and that the EMS would be able to evaluate her and get her help immediately. She handed the phone to her friend/caregiver. I instructed the gentleman to hang up the phone, call 911 right away. He agreed. I also instructed him to call me after the EMS arrived to inform me what occurred; if I didn't hear from him in an hour, I'd call them back.

An hour later, I received a call that the EMS had taken this cute little lady to the hospital. I was relieved, knowing that she would get the help she needed. The next day, I informed our liaison that the client was taken in via EMS the previous night, and could she check on her.

I didn't really put much thought into this little lady following Monday morning, when I reported to the clinicians the events of Friday night. There was some concern of course, knowing that she had actually been admitted to the hospital and was in the ICU. But work is busy, so I just sorta let it go....

...until this morning when I spoke with her home health nurse...

The nurse informed me that she has since spoken with the friend/caregiver that I spoke with last Friday night. He wanted to be sure the nurse thanked "whoever it was that made us call 911." Apparently, she coded in the ambulance on the way to the hospital (in layman's terms, her heart and lungs stopped). They had to resuscitate her in the ambulance and intubate her (put a tube down her throat to help her breathe). Had they waited for a nurse to call back, or come evaluate her at home....or not call 911, she may have coded at home - without anyone medical professionals to bring her back. She is alive today because of what I instructed her to do!

This new information was a shock to me and totally caught me off guard this morning. I about cried my eyes out! It was a huge reminder that God sure knows how to put people in just the right place at just the right time. Supporting evidence to me that I am an important part of this company, regardless of how little I feel sometimes. My place in this season IS important right now, even if it doesn't FEEL that way to me daily.

Pretty big stuff...