At Tucson Medical Center Christina Ruebush brings patients from point A to point B.
Ruebush walks up to ten miles a day as a patient transporter at TMC. She may be the person you see in the moments before a big surgery or a nerve-wracking scan.
"I get to come across a variety of people, and everyone has a different story," Ruebush said. "Everybody has a different problem."
Ruebush started working at TMC last year. In April she met a man that inspired her to let all patients know that someone cares.
"I went to pick him up, and I was warned -- he's not very happy, he's very cranky," Ruebush said. "And so I probably transported him 3 or 4 times, and he was."
So Ruebush decided to buy him a card.
"He was a totally different person after that card," Ruebush said. "He didn't think that anybody cared. He didn't have any family, he didn't have any friends."
Now Ruebush says she hands out around 15 get well cards a day and keeps a stack in her locker. On Christmas Day she brought in special holiday cards for the more than 400 patients at TMC.
"I had never seen so many smiles in my life," Ruebush said. "No matter how bad they were feeling, no matter what they were going through. It was just amazing to see the smiles on their faces. And that's all I needed."
Ruth Halter also works at TMC and oversees all patient meals. Her husband was recovering from surgery on the holiday when she was surprised to see Christina at the door.
"I hope this card gives you a smile and improves your spirits during the holiday season," the card reads.
"He just thought it was really great to have a visit that wasn't a physician, wasn't a nurse," Halter said. "But it was somebody that was handing a card to him and wishing good cheer."
Ruebush says she'll continue to hand out cards throughout the year. She buys them from a dollar store and uses her printer at home for the messages.
