“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” – Gandhi
That quote is more than applicable to one of our Registered Nurses, Ana Thornton, who has recently saved the life of a stranger.
A couple of weeks ago, Ana left her job after a tiring shift filled with lots of calls, chart work and patient visits. As she was walking outside of the office building she noticed a man with his head hanging back. As she approaches him, she notices that he is sweaty and his skin tone is of a bluish hue. But most importantly, she notices that he was non-responsive to her and, with that, she immediately checks his eyes and sees pinpoint pupils.
Within that moment, she knew that the man had overdosed from some sort of opioid and that if she would not take immediate action, this man would die on her in that moment.
Once Ana notices that he was not breathing. She lifts his head and gives him a thorough shaking so that he can restart his breath. Finally, the unconscious man starts lightly breathing again and starts to make odd noises before going breathless yet once again.
This cycle repeats several times and Ana knew that she needed backup for him. And so, while holding his head up, she reaches for her phone to dial 911 when luckily she sees the super of the building taking out the trash and she tells him that the unconscious man needs medical attention as soon as possible.
Instantly, the Super of the building runs to the nearest fire department as they have an EMT available. While doing so, Ana continues helping the man by making sure he gets some breaths in.
Finally, upon the EMTs arrival, the team places the unconscious man on the ground and gives him a couple of doses of medicine. Finally, the man resurrects, opens his eyes, takes a proper breath and survives this tragic incident.
Ana did not know this man, nor has she ever seen him before, yet her care and love allowed for this man to live again. If she was not there to be the good samaritan at the right place and right time, the man would not be alive today. For us, Ana sets an example as to how we should all be in our community, open and willing to help those in need.
It is in moments like this where one has to realize what is important in life. For All Heart, it’s to give back to those in need and to help them when they are in the most vulnerable state. With that, we are proud to serve our patients for it’s not just a job to us, but a lifestyle of being able to help and save lives.
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