Nurses are known for going out of their way to help their patients, but one Georgia nurse went above and beyond to help one patient who was unable to take care of his furry companion while sick in the hospital.
On a recent trip across the country, truck driver Jose Carbajal suddenly started feeling intense stomach pain, and his dog Mr. Midnight could tell something was seriously wrong. “He has a great personality. He is an amazing dog and a great friend. He loves to ride in the truck and look out the window at all the scenery. We have been all across the country and he loves it,” Carbajal said. “For those 15 hours that I was in pain Mr. Midnight knew that something was wrong. He would not eat or drink or be his joyful self. I would catch him staring at me with sad eyes.”
Finally, the pain became unbearable and Carbajal left Mr. Midnight in his truck while he went to Piedmont Henry Hospital to get help. Once there, doctors determined Carbajal’s appendix was causing the pain and needed to be removed immediately. “When I was told by the doctor that I was going to have emergency surgery I didn’t want to do it because I had no idea what was going to happen to Mr. Midnight,” Carbajal said. “He was inside my 18-wheeler waiting for me to come back. I was more worried about Mr. Midnight than I was about myself.”
Carbajal told doctors and nurses about Mr. Midnight, and during the operation, staff asked around to try and find anyone willing to watch their patient’s dog. Word about Mr. Midnight reached Deanna Mahaley, a certified surgical tech at the hospital, and she immediately volunteered to take him in. Mahaley quickly texted her husband before surgery and sent him the information to go get Mr. Midnight. “When I got off work, I went upstairs to Jose’s room and introduced myself, and let him know who it was exactly watching his dog.”
“When I heard Jose had a puppy in his truck, my mind couldn’t get over the fact that the poor thing was probably scared to death that his owner was absent for so long,” Mahaley said. “It was killing me. I honestly didn’t even think about how he’d do in the presence of my animals or kids, it just all happened as if it was meant to be.”
For the rest of the week, Mahaley and her family cared for Mr. Midnight while his owner was recovering in the hospital. And when Carbajal was finally released from the hospital, Mr. Midnight was there waiting to be reunited with his best friend. “They will always have a special place in my heart, and Mr. Midnight will never forget them and all the love they gave him,” Carbajal said.
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[Featured image: Deanna Mahaley]
Nurse Takes In Patient’s Dog While He Was In The Hospital is an article from: LifeDaily