SAN ANTONIO – A misdiagnosis led a woman to be checked into a COVID-19 intensive care unit. She ended up at Methodist Hospital Metropolitan confused and in shock, but she took the time to ask an important question to the staff helping. Their answer has kept her coming back each Wednesday to deliver a sweet package made with a lot of love.
It all started back in April after Pat Good fainted and hit her head on a counter at home.
“My husband came home for lunch and found me unresponsive and took me to a local E.R.,” Good said.
Emergency first responders diagnosed her with a stroke and COVID-19 and later transported her to Methodist Hospital Metropolitan.
“I woke up and these people came walking into my room and zoot suits,” Good said. “I just started laughing because I thought I was dreaming the whole thing. And so, doctors ran more tests, and realized I did not have COVID. I did not have a stroke. I had a concussion.”
Although clear of the virus, Good could not leave as she had been exposed to it in the unit. So, she began to build a relationship with the nurse staff.
“And so I said enough about me, Let’s talk about you, you nurses,” Good said. “I said, How long have you been doing this? And every single one of them said they had started from the beginning. And I said, How do you have the courage to come in here and do your job every day? And they said, because they need us and we love nursing and we love our patients.”
Good was moved by their stories and dedication to their job and community.
“I said, Tell me about your worst day. And they said one man said, who was a nurse,” Good said. “He said today was my worst day, April 15th, 2021. He said. We lost an 18 year old boy today to COVID. And it was the first time they had lost somebody that young.”
Good was the only patient the staff could speak to, as the rest were on respirators fighting for their lives.
“I said then on behalf of all the patients here, that can’t talk, thank you so much,” Good said to the nurses. “I promised them that I would never forget them after I got out, and that I would always keep them in my prayers.”
From that time on, she began baking fresh pastries once a month.
“But then things got worse, and I realized that these nurses were going to have to step up again when the new (Delta variant) took over.”
Since then, she has delivered the goods every Wednesday.
“I call myself God’s Little Delivery Girl, and all the way down to the hospital I pray, ‘God, whoever receives these cookies bless them today is their burden. Give them just one sweet moment in their day because they have a lot to face, you know?’,” Good said.
Good plans to continue baking until the pandemic is over to support local nurses.
“Everybody has a breaking point and there’s a lot of nurses leaving the profession today,” Good said. “That concerns me… I want them to know through my baking that I care about them and that I think they’re heroes.”
She also hopes the community will hear her story and be inspired to do something similar.
If people would like to bake, she advises to call the front desk of your nearest hospital or emergency clinic to ask about their COVID-19 safety protocols. Most require that the baked goods be wrapped individually and delivered to the front desk with a cover memo.
To contact Good for cookie deliveries, email thegoodhouse@hotmail.com.