An explosion was heard over the better part of the Northeast, only to find out that a plane had crashed with multiple casualties. The team members of the operating room headed back to the hospital without hesitation or delay. The staff worked quickly to prepare rooms, went to the Emergency room, and were ready for anything to come.

Perioperative students arrived at the unit to help be runners; people left their dinner plans; people left their families all to be at the hospital, many without being asked, to help with the devastating event. One patient came to the Operating Room, a 10-year-old boy. This unit is not a pediatric unit, but everyone jumped right in to save him. After this boy arrived at our unit, the team was flawless in their actions, working seamlessly with the surgeon.

Shortly after the procedure started, the boy’s family began to arrive at the unit. Staff went into their lockers to provide candy and snacks for the family. People rallied around the family to give them any type of comfort, even offering crayons and coloring books to the children who were there.

At the end of the procedure, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist hugged, showing how hard they worked to save this little boy. Staff stayed with the boy to make sure that his follow-up CT scan was clear before he was sent to CHOP. Nurses do what nobody else will do, in a way that nobody else can, in spite of all they go through. This nursing unit went above and beyond in a horrific situation.