I wish I had a photo to go along with this post.
It's against the HIPAA act to take pictures of patients.
I had a great evening at work tonight. It made up for the crappy morning I had at home.
When I came on at 3pm, my only patient was "Jim", who was in our unit after having brain surgery to remove a tumor. Jim is an elderly man, and ever since surgery a week ago, he has been unresponsive. Little movement, no speech, no eye contact, nothing. CT scans showed immense swelling in his brain where the large tumor had been.
Tonight, Jim opened his eyes, looked right at me, and talked. We didn't have a brilliant discussion about the presidential election, or even about the beautiful fall weather outside his window. He said "yes", "no", and "sure". He followed my commands to squeeze my hand and wiggle his toes. He said "no" when I asked if he was in pain. He coughed when I told him to cough.
These seem like small things, but for some reason these small things made me want to shout for joy. Some patients touch your heart in a special way. I have never taken care of Jim before tonight, but I have been in charge and helped with his baths and passed by his room for the past week. This man is a husband, a father, a brother, a friend. And although he has a long road ahead of him, today was a good day. For him, and for me.
This is why I am still a working mother. Because I truly love my job (bodily functions and all). Because tomorrow, when I am at home all day with Gabe, I will be a better mom for the experience I had today as a nurse. Because sometimes, out of nowhere, hope smacks you in the face and makes you take notice. Because God, in His infinite wisdom, saw fit to convince an 18 year old girl to apply to nursing school, then take a job in an ICU at the unbelievably young age of 20. This past August marked my 14th year of nursing, and I love it more today than I did back then.
I appreciated it so much when you supported me this summer, with my horrible patient experience. I just thought you might like to hear a happy story, too.
16 comments:
What a reminder that we tend to take life for granted most days, instead of being grumpy about getting up to go to work, I should be thankful that I get to wake up and experience a new day!
wow, thats truly wonderful. Its awesome that you get to be there and see the miracle's that happen every day. Thanks for the perspective! LA
Damnit Heather, why do you always make me cry and in the morning too when I have to get ready for work. You are such a wonderful person and I am so happy you are MY sister and friend. Love you.
Whaddya cryin' for, sis?
This was a happy story.
I love you, too.
I am so glad you have this job. I don't think I could take the highs and the lows everyday without being a trainwreck.
God definitly led you to where you should be!
I couldn't agree more and I totally understand. It is the good ones that make it all worth it.
Isn't it an amazing thing to know that you have made a difference?!? I am hoping that I come away from my teens in my Latin class feeling like this today. Rather than feeling like I am going to pull all my hair out. Which is how I usually feel...
You just gave me goose bumps.
Heather, that IS soooo AWESOME!!! This is one of the reasons I want to be a nurse! GREAT job!!! I LOVE hearing these stories!!
So, Andy and Terri were only slightly gloating?? That's too funny! Poor Ian seemed very disappointed when I called the other night! Yah, Bob wanted to go moose hunting with Sarah Palin! haha
See what fun I miss when I'm not at work?!?!
So, I wasn't feeling my homework today, but reading this story just reminded me why I need to get this homework done. So, I can hurry up with these pre-req's and get into nursing school!
THANKS Heather!! So, will you be quitting soon considering your now the new First Lady?
That was a very touching post. A lot of times we take for granted the little things. When you lose all of that, it's amazing the perspective you find. That man is blessed to have you taking care of him.
It is the small tender mercies that make life worth living. You had one in Jim. Thank you for sharing that. It is the moments where we are serving others that we can really feel the love of our Lord. It is what makes life worth living......
You are my example. I wish to be an RN and know that some day it will happen. I hear so many that hate what they do, nursing school was the worst and the moral on the job is awful. Then I hear from you aobut your job and it is filled with truth of the good and bad. The joy that you have in doing it, the delight in talking with a patient and seeing those miracles during affliction. Thank you for reminding me....:)
That DOES make the bodily functions worth it.... I could never do your job but I very much admire you for doing it....
Oh, I love a happy story. We need more happy stories.
We love nurses...Scott's FNP is sitting right here with me and she's our hero. Of course, she's also convincing my husband that I have serious issues (doctors never treat their spouses seriously!), so I really love her for that.
You rock on with your bad self. But rock on down here, first.
I just ran across your blog. I love reading your post.
I am a mother of a 2 1/2 year old and a 7 month old. I have just started back to school for a second degree in Nursing (first one was in business mgnt.) I am so excited to be going back, although studying with two little ones is hard at times.
Thanks for your sweet story. I can't wait to experince it all.
Thanks for coming to visit my blog the other day. I enjoyed reading yours. I can tell you really love being a nurse. My hubby works at a hospital here in the Pacific Northwest. He is in IT and works with a lot of the medical personel. He always talks about how much he admires the nurses and how hard they work. So very glad your patient is doing well - that part of your job must make the hard parts worth it!!
Thanks for sharing that sweet story. Your patients are lucky to have you there to care for them.
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