Nurse Showed Extraordinary Care by Gifting Clothes to Patient in Need

The second-floor surgery break room doors opened at Methodist Hospital, and there stood Angela Knigge, BSN, RN, with a big smile on her face. Once she saw her fellow nurses standing inside the room and clapping their hands to welcome her, she knew what was happening.

“I swear, I thought I was in trouble!” Knigge exclaimed.

Knigge was presented with a DAISY Award, a national honor that acknowledges and commends extraordinary care provided by nurses. She was nominated by a fellow nurse, Britney Cope, BSN, RN, who is also a DAISY Award recipient.

Meeting all the patient’s needs

Knigge was working in the operating room when she met and began taking care of an older gentleman. She recalls him telling her that he had gotten out of the shower at home. The next thing he remembered was waking up naked as medics were preparing to transport him to the hospital.

“I asked him, ‘So, you came here with no clothes, no shoes?’ He told me, ‘Yeah.’ He had nothing.”

When Knigge asked where his family lives, he told her he had no family left.

“I said, ‘Well, we’re your family now.’”

And as most families do, they provide for one another.

“I just remember thinking, ‘This man cannot leave with no clothes.’ It was cold outside. We needed to take care of him.”

So, later that night, Knigge and her daughter went shopping for items that would comfort the man when it came time for him to go home: socks, underwear, sweatpants, a sweatshirt, slippers and a jacket.
 

Gifting compassionate care

When Knigge returned to work, she gathered a few other nurses, and they delivered the gifts to the patient.

“He was very humbled. Very humbled. He smiled a big smile and said, ‘Thank you.’”

Knigge began tearing up when she described that moment.

“In this line of work, you never do anything with the intent of getting anything back in return. It’s just a given. That you show unconditional love. For what you do, for the people you work with and for those you care for.”

Knigge was thrilled to be recognized for a job well done. And while some may consider what she did for the man a corporal work of mercy, she simply considers it The Meaning of Care.