When one of our patients was in a head-on collision just a month before his wedding, he thought he'd have to stand at the altar on plain, unattractive standard-issue crutches. But for Lisa Mikitcet, that was out of the question. Lisa was the patient's physical therapist during his three week stay on 5P, the orthopaedic reconstructive unit.

As she got to know her patient, Lisa realized how important his wedding day was to him, and she wanted to help. Using her creativity and initiative, Lisa created a pair of "formal" crutches for him to use on his wedding day. From top to bottom, Lisa dressed up the crutches, sewing "sleeves" for the arm pads and hand rests, wrapped black ribbon down the length of the crutches, and even spray-painted the rubber tips for a patent leather look. The patient was understandably surprised to receive such a thoughtful gift from someone he'd only known for a short time.

"This was a wonderful gesture," said Linda Verscheuren, nurse manager on 5P. "It really makes a difference when patients know that we care about them on a personal level."