Sara Steward
July 2017
Sara
Steward
,
MSN, BA, ADN, RN, ONC
Main Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
University of New Mexico Hospitals
Albuquerque
,
NM
United States
Sara's empathy and care prevented my bad accident from turning into something much worse. She was there for me and treated me like family.
Mid-year I was in a motorcycle accident where I hit the wall of an overpass. That accident resulted in multiple wounds to my leg and arm that left me unable to move and stuck in the middle of the road.
Sara was coming off of her night shift and was headed home. She was a few cars behind me but did not see the accident. She did, however, stop her car in the middle of the road to protect me. During this time, we were almost hit multiple times by vehicles going too fast. Sara, along with a few others, pulled me to the shoulder of the road and contacted the emergency services and family members. She stayed with me after the ambulance arrived and helped me from slipping into shock.
Later that evening while recovering in the PACU, she saw that I had surgery and visited. She spoke with my family and me about the accident for a while. This meant a lot to me as my surgeons were back into the OR before I had come off of the anesthesia. She was able to help find a doctor who had observed my surgery and get me a description of the damage to my leg. This was very important to me.
Three weeks later I came in for my final surgery. She was on duty that evening and recognized me right away. She seemed to remember everything that went down 20 days earlier and spoke briefly with me before I went into surgery.
She was a bright point in an otherwise dark period of my life and I am thankful that she was there for me.
***
For me, I have always heard that you can judge a person's character by what they do when no one is looking. I think that best describes Sara's character. She stopped and took care of my son on her way home from work. She did not have to stop, but she did. She may not think that was a big deal, but it was for my son. In the emergency room the first day, my son told me about someone named Sara who stopped and helped him at the time of the accident. He said it helped so much. It made that much of an impact on him. I know my son is an adult, but it hurt so much to see him in so much pain and having gone through so much. As a mother, it helped to know that there was someone there to help him in his time of need.
Later that night while in the PACU, Sara came and introduced herself and to see how my son was doing. She had come in on her day off to do interviews, and yet she took the time to visit with us. So special. It had been such a long day. As a parent, it is hard to hear that your son is coming in through trauma and to try to take in everything that happens after that. Her visit made things seem more caring and personal. My son explained that she had put herself at risk helping him. Cars were flying by and they were almost hit. I thanked her and she said, "that is what we do". This is not just "what we do". She did not have to stop andhelp him and comfort him. She did not have to protect him from traffic. No one would have known if she did not. That is not part of her job expectations. But for Sara, it is apparent that it is just who she is. She was so professional and caring. She is a real asset to the UNMH team. My husband and I cannot thank her enough.
Mid-year I was in a motorcycle accident where I hit the wall of an overpass. That accident resulted in multiple wounds to my leg and arm that left me unable to move and stuck in the middle of the road.
Sara was coming off of her night shift and was headed home. She was a few cars behind me but did not see the accident. She did, however, stop her car in the middle of the road to protect me. During this time, we were almost hit multiple times by vehicles going too fast. Sara, along with a few others, pulled me to the shoulder of the road and contacted the emergency services and family members. She stayed with me after the ambulance arrived and helped me from slipping into shock.
Later that evening while recovering in the PACU, she saw that I had surgery and visited. She spoke with my family and me about the accident for a while. This meant a lot to me as my surgeons were back into the OR before I had come off of the anesthesia. She was able to help find a doctor who had observed my surgery and get me a description of the damage to my leg. This was very important to me.
Three weeks later I came in for my final surgery. She was on duty that evening and recognized me right away. She seemed to remember everything that went down 20 days earlier and spoke briefly with me before I went into surgery.
She was a bright point in an otherwise dark period of my life and I am thankful that she was there for me.
***
For me, I have always heard that you can judge a person's character by what they do when no one is looking. I think that best describes Sara's character. She stopped and took care of my son on her way home from work. She did not have to stop, but she did. She may not think that was a big deal, but it was for my son. In the emergency room the first day, my son told me about someone named Sara who stopped and helped him at the time of the accident. He said it helped so much. It made that much of an impact on him. I know my son is an adult, but it hurt so much to see him in so much pain and having gone through so much. As a mother, it helped to know that there was someone there to help him in his time of need.
Later that night while in the PACU, Sara came and introduced herself and to see how my son was doing. She had come in on her day off to do interviews, and yet she took the time to visit with us. So special. It had been such a long day. As a parent, it is hard to hear that your son is coming in through trauma and to try to take in everything that happens after that. Her visit made things seem more caring and personal. My son explained that she had put herself at risk helping him. Cars were flying by and they were almost hit. I thanked her and she said, "that is what we do". This is not just "what we do". She did not have to stop andhelp him and comfort him. She did not have to protect him from traffic. No one would have known if she did not. That is not part of her job expectations. But for Sara, it is apparent that it is just who she is. She was so professional and caring. She is a real asset to the UNMH team. My husband and I cannot thank her enough.