Great Stories
Montana Campus Corps:
College Students Meeting Critical Community Needs
A Lady I Will Always Remember by Ann Schad

I have many good stories from volunteering my time and helping others, but I have a special story that I will always remember.

It was in my last semester of college doing clinical rotation at Kalispell Regional Medical Center for PN nursing schol and my teacher paired me up with this 87 years young lady. The ladies name was Alice (name changed for HIPPA rules). Alice lived alone and fell down and could not get up. The next day, the eals on wheels gentleman, who drops off her meal for the day, saw that Alice did not retrieve her meal from the front porch the day before and thought right away that something was wrong. He knocked on her door, but to no avail, there was no answer. The meals on wheels gentleman quickly called the police and explained Alice was not answering her door and has not gotten her meal from the day before, the police said they would check it out.

The police found Alice down on the floor and was lethargic, confused, and weak. Alice did not even know who she was or where she was. The police called the ambulance and transported Alice to the hospital where I was volunteering my time in clinical. It turned out Alice was very dehydrated, slightly malnurished, and had an infection in her body. The doctor's started her on IV fluids, antibiotics, and nutritional substances. Alice refused to eat because she shought she had to pay for all the food and she had no money. I proceeded to explain to her that MediCare will pay for it and not matter how much she ate; it was all one price, so she could eat as much as she wanted.

I kept going in and checking on Alice and asking if she needed anything. I was getting her snacks, coffee, and helping her clean up her face, hands, and giving her a shower. Alice loved the attention. She told me I was the sweetest person on earth for taking care of her. She could not express her thanks enough. Every time I went into her room, Alice was smiling, happy, and had tons of compliments for me. She told me she has never had anyone fuss over her so much, and has not eaten that much in years. Alice was very happy and was recuperating fast.

I hated to see her go home to her lonely house with no one to care for her. Alice will always be remembered by me. It shows me how one person can make a difference in someone's life just by volunteering time to show someone you care for them. That is why I want to become a nurse, to care.

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