Published: Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A broken hip can't stand in the way of love
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Photo courtesy Robert Andes
Nancy Andes, who broke her hip two days before her daughter's wedding on Saturday, was transported to the festivities at Hidden Meadows in Snohomish by Northwest Ambulance, which also provided her escorts for the event. Shown (from left) are newlyweds Steve and Tamara Fitchner, Andes and, from Northwest Ambulance, Paul Ross and Norman Carbajal.
With just one daughter, Nancy Andes couldn't wait for her once-in-a-lifetime day as mother of the bride.
She and her daughter, Tamara Unruh, spent a year planning a wedding. As the first Saturday in October drew near, the Snohomish area woman and her daughter attended to every detail. Together, they even made jam, decorating jars with gingham as wedding favors.
In her career and family life, Andes, 63, sees herself as a caregiver. A nurse for 32 years, she works at Providence Regional Medical Center's Pacific campus. She also spends many hours caring for her elderly stepfather, a widower who lives in Everett.
That's where she was Thursday, two days before the wedding.
Her car was parked near a concrete berm at her stepfather's house. Somehow, she tripped and fell.
"I went into the neighbor's bushes. My left foot was caught under the car," Andes said Tuesday. "It went 'pop.' It really hurt. And I couldn't move my right leg."
She didn't think her stepfather would hear her if she called out. "Luckily, I had my cellphone," Andes said.
Other relatives at the house called 911. Andes remembers her stepfather saying, "She's got a wedding." She also had a broken hip.
By Friday, Andes was in surgery at Providence Regional Medical Center's Colby campus to repair her right hip. It was broken in five places. Dr. Bill Huang, an orthopedic surgeon with Everett Bone & Joint, used a metal rod and several pins to put her hip back together, Andes said.
She wasn't back in her hospital room until 6 p.m. Friday -- only 22 hours before Unruh was scheduled to marry Steve Fitchner. The wedding was set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Hidden Meadows, an event venue in rural Snohomish.
"My daughter, she is amazing," Andes said Tuesday. "She said 'Don't worry, Mom. We've got something in the works.' "
Tamara had gone to school with Allen Abbott, a technician in the Providence emergency room. When he learned of the bride's predicament, Abbott called Paul Ross, a registered nurse who once worked at the Everett hospital. Ross is now regional operations director with Northwest Ambulance Critical Care Transport in Marysville.
Ross said Abbott knew that transportation would be the key to getting Andes to her daughter's wedding. "And arranging for the doctors to sign off on her release would take something pretty special," Ross said.
Here's how special: Northwest Ambulance provided Andes not only with rides to and from the wedding, but with Ross and EMT supervisor Norman Carbajal as escorts for the entire event. The company provided the service without charge.
Ross said their effort was a chance to give back to someone who "has given her life in dedication of service to so many people."
Recuperating at home with the help of her husband, Robert Andes, Nancy Andes said Tuesday she was allowed to leave the hospital because she demonstrated she could walk on her own, be without a catheter, and handle the needed pain medication.
By 2:45 p.m. Saturday, she had been taken by ambulance to Hidden Meadows. Her stretcher wouldn't fit in the bridal dressing area, so she used the groom's area to get dressed and have her hair and makeup done.
She was pushed down the aisle in a wheelchair for the ceremony, but spent the rest of the evening on a stretcher. "Tears rolled down her face as we wheeled her down the aisle," Ross said.
Even on the stretcher, she was part of the celebration. "They moved me to the cake-cutting, to the bride and groom's table, even out to see sparklers outside," Andes said of her ambulance crew. "They were with me until they brought me home at 10 p.m."
The bride and groom are honeymooning in Mexico. They would surely agree with how Andes describes their unforgettable day: "All the details were perfect."
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
She and her daughter, Tamara Unruh, spent a year planning a wedding. As the first Saturday in October drew near, the Snohomish area woman and her daughter attended to every detail. Together, they even made jam, decorating jars with gingham as wedding favors.
In her career and family life, Andes, 63, sees herself as a caregiver. A nurse for 32 years, she works at Providence Regional Medical Center's Pacific campus. She also spends many hours caring for her elderly stepfather, a widower who lives in Everett.
That's where she was Thursday, two days before the wedding.
Her car was parked near a concrete berm at her stepfather's house. Somehow, she tripped and fell.
"I went into the neighbor's bushes. My left foot was caught under the car," Andes said Tuesday. "It went 'pop.' It really hurt. And I couldn't move my right leg."
She didn't think her stepfather would hear her if she called out. "Luckily, I had my cellphone," Andes said.
Other relatives at the house called 911. Andes remembers her stepfather saying, "She's got a wedding." She also had a broken hip.
By Friday, Andes was in surgery at Providence Regional Medical Center's Colby campus to repair her right hip. It was broken in five places. Dr. Bill Huang, an orthopedic surgeon with Everett Bone & Joint, used a metal rod and several pins to put her hip back together, Andes said.
She wasn't back in her hospital room until 6 p.m. Friday -- only 22 hours before Unruh was scheduled to marry Steve Fitchner. The wedding was set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Hidden Meadows, an event venue in rural Snohomish.
"My daughter, she is amazing," Andes said Tuesday. "She said 'Don't worry, Mom. We've got something in the works.' "
Tamara had gone to school with Allen Abbott, a technician in the Providence emergency room. When he learned of the bride's predicament, Abbott called Paul Ross, a registered nurse who once worked at the Everett hospital. Ross is now regional operations director with Northwest Ambulance Critical Care Transport in Marysville.
Ross said Abbott knew that transportation would be the key to getting Andes to her daughter's wedding. "And arranging for the doctors to sign off on her release would take something pretty special," Ross said.
Here's how special: Northwest Ambulance provided Andes not only with rides to and from the wedding, but with Ross and EMT supervisor Norman Carbajal as escorts for the entire event. The company provided the service without charge.
Ross said their effort was a chance to give back to someone who "has given her life in dedication of service to so many people."
Recuperating at home with the help of her husband, Robert Andes, Nancy Andes said Tuesday she was allowed to leave the hospital because she demonstrated she could walk on her own, be without a catheter, and handle the needed pain medication.
By 2:45 p.m. Saturday, she had been taken by ambulance to Hidden Meadows. Her stretcher wouldn't fit in the bridal dressing area, so she used the groom's area to get dressed and have her hair and makeup done.
She was pushed down the aisle in a wheelchair for the ceremony, but spent the rest of the evening on a stretcher. "Tears rolled down her face as we wheeled her down the aisle," Ross said.
Even on the stretcher, she was part of the celebration. "They moved me to the cake-cutting, to the bride and groom's table, even out to see sparklers outside," Andes said of her ambulance crew. "They were with me until they brought me home at 10 p.m."
The bride and groom are honeymooning in Mexico. They would surely agree with how Andes describes their unforgettable day: "All the details were perfect."
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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