The hospital I work for lets patients leave comments about something good that happened to them during their stay. Once a month, the best stories are picked and shared with everyone. This story really stuck with me.

A patient who was doing an extended stay at the hospital came running out of her room in tears, screaming for help. [Nurse #1] happened to be nearby and ran to the patient’s side checking for injuries; she seems to be okay, but she is begging the nurse for help. The patient explains that she’s just gotten off the phone with her sister and it is her sister that needs help. Her sister had been having a rough go at life recently and could no longer take it; she had called to say goodbye. [Nurse #1] immediately calls for another nurse for help as she helps the patient back her her room. She briefly explains the situation to the second nurse who pulls out his phone and dials 911 as the patient attempt to get her sister back on the line.

For the next 20-30 minutes the two nurses never leave the patient’s side. [Nurse #1] is keeping a close look at the patient’s health while giving her suggestions on things to say to keep her sister on the line, as it would mean more coming from a loved one rather than a stranger. Meanwhile, [Nurse #2] is on the phone covertly getting the sister’s information from the patient and passing it along to the dispatcher.

Unfortunately, it seems that the sister catches on and swallows a handful of pills before hanging up the phone… mere minutes before the paramedics pull into her drive. Since [Nurse #2] is still on the phone with dispatch, he is able to convey to them exactly what had happened inside the house — they even know what kind of pills she’d taken! The paramedics rush the sister to the emergency room where they are able to save her life. The paramedics and dispatch are in constant contact with [Nurse #2], relaying information through him to our patient, up until the point when the sister is admitted.

The nurses went above and beyond for the patient. They could have simply called 911 and reported the situation, but they stayed by the patient’s side and treated her sister, who lives in a completely different city. A huge thank you also has to go out to the paramedics and 911 dispatcher who kept the patient informed through the entire ordeal.

I am happy to report that at the time of me writing this, both sisters are doing well.

(I am a customer in this story, observing this. It’s about 95 degrees today, and an elderly woman comes in to the store wrapped in a coat over a sweater.)

Worker: “Hi, Mrs. [Customer]! How are you today? Did you walk all the way here bundled up like that?”

Elderly Woman: “Yes. I’m running away.”

Worker: *laughing* “Running away? Was there another fight at bingo today?”

Elderly Woman: “No, my mom was being mean to me and I got mad and ran away.”

(At this, the workers eyes go wide; she mouths an apology to me before paging for another cashier. She leads the elderly woman over to a chair and encourages her to take off her coat and gets her a bottle of water. I hear her telling the woman to stay there for a moment and walks away to make a phone call. Curious, I wander over to see if everything is okay and hear her asking someone if there are any drivers to pick the woman up.)

Me: “Is everything okay? I can call a cab for her if you need.”

Worker: “No, that’s quite all right, thank you. Just making sure she gets home okay.”

(She goes back to the woman, who remembers she has a daughter with gentle prodding but can’t remember the phone number and didn’t bring her address book. The worker waves me over as I’m still standing nearby and asks me to stay with the woman for a minute. She comes back a moment later with her purse.)

Worker: “All right, Mrs. [Customer], let’s get you home.”

(She proceeded to clock out and lead the woman outside to a shady spot to wait for the cab, then went with her. When I went back a few days later and asked about it the manager told me the woman had a really bad bout of dementia and that the worker had recognized that and wanted to make sure she got back to the living facility safely. The woman was moved to a secured floor. I can only hope that if something happens to my grandparents or me that we have a worker like that to help us.)

(I work at a popular sub franchise. There are three locations in town and we are the most recommended for our great customer service. My roommate comes in time and time again to get food. On this day he comes by to check his mail and get a quick meal. My co-worker is running late and I’m handling a small rush by myself. I finally get to the last lady in line who is obviously new to the area and has an accent I’m not familiar with. Her sandwich is simple and I get her through the process quite quickly. As I’m ringing her out she asks where a specific church is. Sadly, I do not go to any of the churches in town so I am not familiar with which church she is talking about. The customer only knows that it is downtown, which is not far but could take 30 minutes with a brisk walk. I look to my roommate for help and he intervenes. He and I both look up the church she is looking for and confirms it’s right behind the bank in downtown.)

Customer: “Thank you both so much! I have to walk down there and I wanted to make sure I was going the right way.”

Roommate: “No problem! You know, I can easily give you a ride to the church. I know my way around the area and it’s not far. It’s a long walk. I’m only here to bother her.” *points to me*

Customer: *obviously flustered and on the verge of tears* “I… I don’t know. That’s so nice of you. I would appreciate it so much. I am not from around here, so it’s so nice of you!”

(My roommate insists on her finishing her sandwich in the store as he has nowhere to be. As they continue talking about the area, he gives her his phone number in case of emergencies. She is absolutely flustered and grateful at the offer and assistance that she nearly cries multiple times. By the time they are leaving, we offer her some water bottles to take with her and anything else she may need.)

Roommate: “All right, I’ll be right back.”

Me: “No problem, drive safe.” *pulls him to the side and whispers* “Free meal for you tonight, man.”

(Sometimes small things like rides can prove to be something life changing. I don’t think you should always lend a helping hand for your safety, but sometimes it is honestly the best thing you can do.)

This is few years ago when I am a struggling college student. I work 40 hours a week at a coffee shop and take nine units in school, all I can manage with my workload, I also spend three nights a week at my grandmother’s house 40 miles away because she has dementia and we don’t want to put her in a home.

My work schedule is Sunday-Thursday with school Monday-Wednesday. I get off work on Thursday and drive straight to my grandmother’s to relieve my mother. I then stay with my grandmother Thursday – Sunday, going home Sunday morning to close my store.

In the same shopping center as my work is a Turkish restaurant that I go to whenever I have a little bit of extra money, for a treat. The owner is also a regular of the coffee shop where I work. One day he asks me about the change in my schedule, because before I started taking care of my grandmother I always worked Friday nights. I tell him about my grandmother and that I have to leave right after work on Thursdays.

For the next six months while I took care of my grandmother he or his wife always stopped by on Thursday with dinner for me and would refuse payment. If I tried to pay while they weren’t at the restaurant the money would wind up with the food the next week. Not only were they providing me with food, most of it was things that weren’t on the menu and that they had made special for me. It was the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me and became a bright spot in my otherwise hectic week.

(A family in our neighborhood has recently returned from Disney World, where their unvaccinated children contracted measles. Even after showing symptoms, they continue to go to the store, school, church, etc., until they finally went to the doctor and the Health Department put them in quarantine. Unfortunately, by this point, half the neighborhood has been exposed, including my infant son, who is far too young to receive the MMR yet. My husband also can’t find his vaccination records, so we are also quarantined in our home for 3 weeks — the usual length of time by which symptoms will show.)

Me: *two weeks into quarantine* “I would kill for a pizza right now.”

Husband: “Me, too. I’d commit any number of unspeakable crimes for some pepperoni.”

Me: “I wonder if there’s a way for them to deliver without breaking quarantine?”

Husband: “I don’t know.”

Me: *starts dialing* “Only one way to find out. Hello? I have kind of a strange request.”

Employee: “Ooookay?”

Me: “You know the measles outbreak? We were exposed, so we’re quarantined in our home. Don’t worry, no signs of anything wrong, but it’s better to be safe. But we’re dying for some pizza.”

Employee: “Man, that sucks! I’m sorry.”

Me: “Thanks. Is there anyway we could pay everything, including tip, on the card in advance, and have your driver just leave the pies on the trunk of our car outside? Then I can grab them after he leaves, so we don’t risk breaking the quarantine.”

Employee: “Yeah, we can make that work. Let me just make a note…” *silence for a few moments* “Okay, so what kind of pizza do you want?”

Me: *orders a couple of pizzas, a bottle of soda, breadsticks, etc.* “Thank you so much!”

Employee: “No prob. That should be there in about half an hour. Let us know if you need anything else. Hope you get out soon!”

(Thirty minutes later, my phone rings.)

Driver: “Hi! You ordered pizza a la car, right?”

Me: “Yeah, that’s us.”

Driver: “Okay. Your order is on the trunk of the [describes car] with the [license plate]. Is that right?”

Me: “Yes! Thanks. You don’t know how much we appreciate this!”

Driver: “It’s not a bother. I’ve pulled out and I’m down the road. Please come out and check your pizzas and let me know if there’s a problem. Bye!” *hangs up*

(I quickly stepped out and checked the pizzas. They were correct, and there was a note on a second, extra bottle of soda, wishing us luck from everyone at the store. I looked up to see the driver grinning like a fool. She gave me two thumbs up, mouthed “It’s going to be okay!”, and drove off. Thanks, pizza folks, for making a scary and stressful time a little more bearable!)