ATHENS, Ga. —
An Athens nurse was on shift as the flow coordinator at the Piedmont Athens Regional hospital in August in her blue patterned scrubs spotlighted under the fluorescent lights ready for a normal day of work.
Denise Mackey quickly realized her latest call to action became personal: Her heart sank into her chest when she got the call about her husband's traumatic bicycle accident.
"My nurse experience just kicked in, and I was ready to take care of my loved one," she said.
Her familiar routine was a comfort until her husband, Brandt, came through the emergency room doors. She was on a mission to save his life.
"That was really tough; he was super confused. I would try and calm him down to let him know I was here and the team would take care of him, but he wasn't even able to look at me and know who I was," she said.
While her husband came in for an injury to his head, Denise's team was taking care of her heart, keeping her in their prayers.
"It was pretty harrowing for a period of time there, and for days and weeks after, we always had Denise in our thoughts," said ER physician Dr. Brendan Hawthorne.
Brandt Mackey doesn't remember the accident or his two-week stay in the hospital.
"I was incredulous. Did that really happen? But when I was able to feel the pain, I confirmed that yeah. That really happened," said Brandt.
While he can't remember the details, he knows his wife was by his side.
"I think I'm really lucky; (I'm) very fortunate. And I feel bad that she had to go through that," he said. "I didn't get special care, is what I think. These people are professionals. And they delivered the level of care I needed to recover."
Denise said she was happy to have her team to lean on as she went through the wave of emotions to save his life.