The patient arrived by ambulance at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital that winter day, complaining of a burning sensation in his chest.
Nurses were helping to remove the man’s clothing in preparation for transferring him to the catheterization lab and couldn’t help but notice the ill-fitting and worn condition of his clothing. His pants were so big that he was using a piece of rope to hold them up.
“We were taking his shoes off and when we were looking in them, we were like, ‘Why is there all this paper in them?'” recalled Brooke Cooks, R.N., B.S.N. “Then, when you turned them over, you saw they were worn through on the bottom of his shoes.”
When the nurses asked the man if he had clothes that fit him better, he responded that he didn’t as he couldn’t both pay his bills and buy new clothes on the Social Security he collects. The ambulance crew had mentioned to Cooks that the man lived in a run-down apartment and that they’d often see him walking during the day, as if to avoid going home.
Yet another thing stood out about the man. He was so courteous to those around him, said Valerie Penic, R.N., B.S.N. SANE-A, CA/CP-SANE.
“He was so grateful for everyone taking care of him. He continuously thanked anyone that came in to help get him to the cath lab,” Penic said.
Inspired to help, Cooks went straight to Walmart after work and bought him a pair of tennis shoes and two pairs of jeans. She then returned to the hospital and left the items with one of the recovery nurses to pass along to the patient.
“He was such a sweet guy and I just felt really bad for him,” Cooks said. “Nobody should have to live without the necessities. Everyone deserves that.”
Penic, also moved to help, purchased some T-shirts, flannel shirts, sturdy work pants, socks, underwear and two more pairs of shoes for the man.
“The man needed warm, sturdy clothes. We had a few duffel bags at home, so I put the clothes in those so he had a way to carry it out,” Penic said. “Leaving the hospital, the last thing he needed to worry about was how he was getting his next pair of shoes.”
Julia Winkler, charge nurse at Texas Health Heart and Vascular where the man underwent treatment, said her heart and soul were touched when Penic walked in with two huge duffel bags for the man.
“I have to confess, I was moved to tears by her kindness and thoughtfulness,” Winkler said. “This patient very, very much needed the help, and these nurses’ gifts could not be more timely.”
(Pictured: Brooke Cooks, R.N., B.S.N. and Valerie Penic, R.N., B.S.N., SANE-A, CA/CP-SANE, reached into their own pockets to help a patient in need.)
By Deanna Boyd Spangler • Posted April 27, 2021
