Who knew there were elves in the operating room? (photo)

When an award-winning Christmas light-decorator slipped and was sent to hospital, she thought her house would go undecorated for the first time in 50 years.

That’s when a pair of “elves” from the operating room used their day off to surprise her.

Patricia Johnson’s house was selected as a winner last winter for the city’s annual Christmas Lighting Awards Program.

This year she was only able to decorate one tree outside her house before an untimely accident about two weeks ago.

“I slipped on some ice in the parking lot and had a spill and broke my hip,” said Johnson, who was reached at home Tuesday.

Although her recovery is going well, she said she wouldn’t have been able to finish what she started without the help.

Luckily she didn’t have to lift a finger because of the generosity of two operating room nursing staff from Sault Area Hospital who used a day off to assume the role of elves to finish what Johnson had started.

“I don’t know how they figured out I hadn’t put up my lights, I must have babbled in the operating room. That’s the only thing I could think of. I don’t know what you say while under anesthetic,” she laughed.

And babble she did, while operating room staff were listening.

“I said ‘maybe a couple of elves will come along and you’ll have a surprise when you come home from the hospital’” said Alyson Robinson, RN.

Robinson, along with Brian MacKenzie, ORT had worked the 3-11 p.m. shift in the operating room Thursday night and got to work Friday morning decorating the house.

They received permission to do the work, which was made easier by Johnson’s labelling of all the light bins.

“I was very pleased they did all of my trees, because I have about six cedar trees and they did the garland on the veranda,” said Johnson.

When Robinson found out about the awards Johnson had won in previous years she doubted her decorating abilities.

“There’s not going to be any awards here,” she laughed.

“But she’ll have something nice to come home to,” she added.

Johnson was indeed pleased when she came home from the hospital to recover.

“I was quite happy because I didn’t think I was going to get any lights up. I thought it would be the first year I didn’t put lights up,” she said.

The nurses didn't seek any recognition for the good deed, speaking to reporters only after someone called to let SooToday know the lights were being put up.

“We don’t do enough nice little things for people,” said Robinson.

(PHOTO: Alyson Robinson and Brian Mackenzie seen December 12, 2014 putting up Christmas lights at the house of a woman who broke her hip in a fall. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)