National Stroke Awareness Month and Blessing Health’s observance of National Nurses Week began on a heartwarming note.

Sunday, May 1, an out-of-state trucker pulled his rig into a Blessing Hospital parking lot and walked into the Emergency Center, concerned he was having a stroke. After stabilizing the patient and admitting him for further testing and observation, his nurse learned the man had a dog in the truck, a one-year-old Russell Terrier named Tinkerbell.

While the Blessing Foundation looked for a place to board the dog, the patient’s nurse, Cameron Morford, went to the truck and found Tinkerbell inside with plenty of food and water.

Now, courtesy of Blessing Foundation donors, Tinkerbell is being boarded at the Quincy Humane Society while the man who rescued her along the road recovers.

Blessing takes pride in caring for patients and their loved ones – including cute, frightened dogs.