By Shelbie Watts, EMS1 Editorial Assistant
Every year between May 6 and May 12, the United States takes the time to appreciate nurses throughout the country for their hard work and dedication to helping others. Here at EMS1.com, we honor them year-round by highlighting their heroism in the news.
Here are five stories of nurses who went above and beyond for other people, both on and off duty.
1. Fla. nurse rescues boy from drowning
Fort Walton Beach Medical Center nurse Erica Bartlett was relaxing while on vacation with her family in Panama City Beach when she noticed a little boy floating on his back in the pool.
“It’s a mother’s worst nightmare,” she said. “He had white foam coming out of his mouth. I jumped in the pool to get him out. When I got him on the ground, I started CPR.”
Bartlett received cheers and claps from bystanders after the boy began breathing again, and he was discharged from the hospital later that night.
“It feels good to know I could help,” Bartlett said. “I don’t have to wonder what else could have been done.”
2. Nurse grants cancer patient’s dying wish to fly in plane
Norton Hospital oncology nurse Tracey Hoffman granted cancer patient Joe Booth’s dying wish to fly in a plane for the first time by simply posting a request to get the job done on Facebook.
“Here we are talking about the end of his life and he’s thinking about how he had never been in an airplane,” Hoffman said. “I decided to put it on social media ... my phone started to explode.”
Booth, who was told to stop taking his medication after a two-year battle with prostate cancer, was flown across flooding from the Ohio River that occurred the day before, as well as the auto mechanic store where he worked.
3. ‘You’re my angel': Off-duty nurse saves man’s life
Providence Hospital ICU nurse Jennifer Folds wasn’t tending to patients when she saved the life of Wayne Colburn. She was instead driving past Burger King on her day off when she saw him lying on the pavement between his car and the curb.
Folds jumped into action and turned Colburn on his back, performing CPR on him until paramedics arrived.
“Mr. Colburn, I know you don’t know me ...” she began as Colburn woke up later in a hospital bed.
“I know who you are. You’re my angel,” Colburn responded.
4. South Korean nurses rescue babies during earthquake
A video surfaced of a group of South Korean nurses performing what many would call an unbelievable act by jumping into action during an earthquake and protecting around 20 babies at the same time.
The nurses can be seen grabbing every baby in the room and bringing them to safety during what was reported as the second most powerful earthquake in South Korea’s history.
5. Nurse honored for actions during Colorado Springs shooting
Penrose Hospital ER nurse Michael Hagiwara was at an optometrist’s office with his 3-year-old daughter when someone ran inside yelling people had been shot at a Planned Parenthood across the street.
Hagiwara ran across the street and treated a bleeding woman in the building’s lobby. Meanwhile, an officer tried to bring another injured man inside, but “he must have saw something because he let the man go and raised his weapon toward the Planned Parenthood,” according to Hagiwara.
The nurse ran out, grabbed the man’s hand and pulled him about 10 feet into the medical building. Dr. Derrick Hurst said the man was shot in the shoulder and the thigh.
“We did what we could to buy them some time,” Hagiwara said.
During this week, and every other day, be sure to thank the nurses you know, and share their heroic stories in the comment section below.