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Last fall, Margot Muller, RN, Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), was a new nurse, and she experienced a situation with a patient that she will never forget. It impacted her as a caregiver and a human being, and her leadership praised her compassion.

Muller was caring for a patient who earlier in the day had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or gallbladder removal surgery. He was in the fast-track area of the PACU and was preparing to go home.

As Muller reviewed the discharge instructions with the patient, she remembered specifically telling him he couldn’t lift anything, “not even a gallon of milk.”

The patient then said he wasn’t sure he could comply. Confused by what the patient meant, Muller started asking questions to get to the bottom of the situation.

She discovered that the patient suffers from peripheral neuropathy, which causes weakened nerves and muscles and prevents him from walking. Muller assumed the patient had a wheelchair at home since, based on his symptoms, it would be crucial for performing routine tasks. However, the patient divulged that he didn’t have a wheelchair. Instead, he spent the last decade crawling on the floor to get around. When must leave his house, his mom rolls out a mat from the front door to the driveway, so he can crawl to the car.

Muller couldn’t believe what she heard, and she knew she had to do something to help. She made it her mission to make sure the patient had the equipment he needed before he left the hospital that day. Muller contacted Social Work, and they supplied the perfect solution: a small wheelchair that was available on-site and would fit in the patient’s mobile home.

“I just thought it was the right thing to do,” Muller says. “I couldn’t send him home crawling. The thought of that broke my heart. … The best part was to see how happy he was. He was just so excited to have a wheelchair of his own.”

Once home and settled in with his new wheels, the patient reported that he has gained so much independence, and even small accomplishments are fulfilling. Muller remembers him saying how “he was excited to go to Walmart and go on a different aisle than his parents.”

Situations like this one are why Muller wanted to be a nurse. “I like making other people feel better,” she says. “It gives me purpose every day.”

Thank you to Margot for your accountability and persistence in taking care of this patient and the compassionate care you provide daily!