This paper describes the emergency nursing experience of caring for a 60-year-old female patient with traumatic lumber fracture combined with incomplete spinal cord injury. The nursing period was from 10:30 to 16:44 on June 19, 2014. We used Gordon's 11 functional health patterns as the assessment framework and collected data through physical assessment, conversations, and chart review. The health problems included acute pain, physical activity dysfunction, and anxiety. Due to severe spinal cord injury caused by an accidental fall from height, this patient experienced extremity pain, physical activity dysfunction, and anxiety toward surgery and prognosis. The patient vented negative emotions at the emergency department, which adversely affected the emergency nursing care and surgical decision-making. During the nursing process, the emergency team conducted strategies such as relaxation techniques, logrolling, and positioning to alleviate the patient's pain and prevent secondary injury from physical activity dysfunction. In addition, we applied listening, caring, and verbal encouragement to guide the patient to express anxiety. We also provided problem clarification and mental support to convince the patient to undergo surgery and face future challenges, and improve the treatment adherence and outcomes of early intervention.