Piedmont Columbus Regional has named registered nurse Megan Ward the organization’s First Friday Hero for the month of September.

A new mother was rushed to the Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown Emergency Trauma Center early one morning after she couldn’t get out of bed, suffering from a possible stroke.

The stroke team evaluated the patient and noted her last known well time was 10 p.m. the night before. Due to this long time gap, she was not eligible for a special stroke treating medication.

During Ward’s initial CT scan assessment, she began to ask the patient more pointed questions. It was discovered the patient had a two-month-old boy at home. This sparked the nurse to ask who cared for the baby during the night. The mom then remembered she was the one who got up every few hours during the night.

Ward immediately contacted the Emergency Department provider to update him with these pertinent findings. The patient was re-evaluated and was now eligible for the special stroke treating medication. The patient successfully underwent a mechanical thrombectomy procedure, breaking up and removing the blood clot in the patient’s brain. The patient was released from the hospital three days later and made a full recovery.

Without Ward’s very detailed assessment and her persistence with asking more questions, this patient’s outcome could have been negatively impacted. Instead, she is back home with her family.

A ceremony with Ward and hospital leadership will be held on Sept. 7 at 10:30 a.m. at the hospital to commend her response. Her story is also featured throughout the hospital on commemorative posters and Piedmont Columbus Regional’s social media pages.

Piedmont Columbus Regional created the First Friday Hero program in mid-2016 to recognize first responders each month who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

“Their line of work is often a thankless job and we want to make the community aware of our local heroes and all they do to make the Chattahoochee Valley a better and safer place,” said Piedmont Columbus Regional CEO Scott Hill.