Health  professionals  are  trained  to  recognize  and  address  cues  which  endanger  the  client's survival. In critical situations, we focus on ensuring the airway, breathing and circulation (ABC) in order to sustain life. Oftentimes, we feel great in performing dramatic interventions and save our patients from the brink of death. But is this enough? Does our role end here? Is this only how we define good nursing care?
This is the case of DL, a 39 year old female who, upon admission to the pay ward in Philippine General  Hospital,  presented  with  respiratory  distress,  as  evidenced  by  dyspnea  and  oxygen desaturation, necessitating intubation. Health history revealed the client as a diagnosed case of Bipolar  I  Disorder  for  21  years.  The  goal  of  providing  holistic  care  to  a  patient  with  a  mood-affective disorder presenting with a medical emergency, like DL, poses a crucial challenge - the challenge in going beyond what meets the eye and focusing on human responses and not just the disease process. This case was then selected to serve as a reminder and a learning opportunity that we should not be limited to symptom management, but more importantly, to recognize the totality of the human being, which is the true essence of nursing care.