Embarrassing Dressing

A couple of months ago I cut my leg open on some broken glass while taking the trash out to the curb. It was completely my own fault as I knew there was broken glass in the trash, and even though I was very careful I managed to fillet my leg open about 3 inches.

I quickly washed it out, called for a ride to the hospital, and while I waited I went through whatever dressing supplies I had to quickly cover it up. It was in an awkward place on my leg so I only could use one hand to do the dressing. It wasn't exactly a professional looking job, but hey, it was covered.

I got to the ER and who else is going to put in my stitches? My past nursing instructor of course! In typical instructor fashion, she took one look at me and said, "Did YOU do that dressing?" As I tried to explain she cut me off by saying "That is terrible! You call that a dressing?" Of course she couldn't hide the smirk on her face and I couldn't stop laughing.

Note to self: Always keep real dressing supplies on hand for emergencies.

Singing Sensation

Yesterday I was doing a procedure on a patient, and their husband was at the bedside with them. They had been married for almost twice as long as I've been alive, and I always love asking how these love affairs began. I love to see people look at each other as that twinkle comes back into their eyes while they remember and wonder how much of the story to tell.

This couple met in college, she was in a singing group that used to practice at one of the other member's house, and he was the brother of that other member and would turn the pages for them.

I took this as an opportunity to ask them if I could hear them sing, and I was delighted as the two of them broke out into a duet. Definitely something you don't hear often on our unit!

Friends

One of my patients today was GREATLY cheered up when his friends came by to visit. Family just hasn't been doing the trick, it took his 3 golfing buddies to travel more than an hour to make him smile and act like the man I'm sure he was before his illness.

I hope people reading this take time to visit friends in the hospital, not just family members. It's friends who often become our new family, as they are the family you get to choose. Don't forget them.

Touched

Recently I took care of a women who was faced with the recurrence of an illness she thought she had beat 14 years ago. It was an incredibly emotional time for her as she had several recent admissions leading up to the big problem. I knew she was a bit depressed and emotional. When working with her I decided I'd take the approach to treat her like a person and not somebody who was ill. She didn't seem like she wanted any more reminders about her current situation and she clearly was spending a lot of time with her thoughts about her future. I thought if I could gain her trust I might be able to help her open up a bit and get some of the emotions out on to the table.

Truthfully, I didn't spend a lot of time with the patient. I left her alone, tried to help her keep her dignity, and was there if she needed anything. That was it.

On day 2 of my care some med students needed a patient to interview so I recommended her. It worked out well for both parties as the students got to see a patient in this situation and what they were dealing with mentally and emotionally, and the patient got a chance to tell her story again in a thorough and complete manner. The results were better than I had hoped. She opened up to the point of tears and sobbing while telling her story for their H&P. It was a magical teaching moment for the med students, and it was a positive experience for the patient as she got the chance to let out and explore some emotions she was trying to deal with.

The surprising part was how the patient repeatedly told the students how pleased she was with my care. I was very flattered by this as I wasn't sure if my plan was working as she had yet to ask me about the questions I knew were on her mind.

After the students left I gave her a few minutes to recover, then I went in her room. I was met with a fresh wave of tears and a thankful hug. She told me she didn't realize she had so much pent up inside her and how it felt good not to run away from her negative thoughts. Finally, the difficult questions came out and off I went to print out information for her.

I hope she knows that she touched my life as much as I did her.

Love Marks?

Today I was assisting another nurse in settling her patient. I was unbuttoning the top of his johnny when I see his chest is rather scratched up, of course my mind immediately goes to the dark side as he looked like he and his Harley had rode many miles together. The patient catches my eye then decides to speak up.

Patient: "Those scratches aren't love marks. I had to give my cat a bath and he didn't like it too much."

Me: "I take it he won? Why a bath anyway?"

Patient: "He got fleas! He is a tiger kitty and he licked off all his stripes because of the fleas!! We had to bathe him, and my wife is really upset over the whole thing."

Poor thing!! That will teach me for making assumptions about one's private life.