Well yesterday, I took care of a patient with severe Parkinson's. He was there overnight (carried on from night shift) and pretty much needed a new placement for his on going care. His brother, who was his primary caretaker, was there too at bedside the whole time. After a little chit-chat, I found out that the brother isn't able to take care of the patient anymore due to his severe stage of the disease (if you are not familiar with Parkinson's, see Michael J. Fox... but this man right here was worse thatn MJ Fox). The brother was in the verge of losing his job & he even sacrificed his own medical conditions in order to take care of his brother *tears*. You can tell that he loves his brother so so much.
So Mr. Patient here has occasional delusions, he tends to get out of the bed no matter how we repositioned and staged his hospital gurney to prevent him of getting out and fall (he has history of falling due to his shakes). As I get to know him more during the day, it's not delusion. It's just his way of communicating is very difficult because of his Parkinson's. He has a hard time trying to blurt out words to express himself to the point he gets really frustrated. I felt really bad for him.
Meanwhile, my friend from Case Management took the time, out of her busy list of patients, to work on a new placement for this gentleman. She literally spent 1/2 of the day trying to get this man a new place. I owe her a beer, or two.
At one point during the day, the brother had to step out to make a phone call, so I decided to act as a sitter for Mr. Patient. As I try to reorient him and get him comfortable, the chitchatter in me decided to be
So my Case Manager friend was able to find him a new place to stay and boy his brother was very delightful. They got him in right away as a direct admission. They were happy, we were happy, everyone was happy. The brother gave me a hug of joy.
After finishing their paperwork and discharging him out, I wheeled the patient to his car with his brother. Then Mr. Patient, with his shaky body, stood up & turned around slowly... And insisting to give me a hug, a big hug. With his Parkinson's talk, he said "Thank You for all of your help".
And that made me feel great for being a nurse.
Sometimes, you just have to stop and listen. Some of my coworkers who weren't in my area that day asked, "What's wrong with your patient? Is he drunk? Is he on drugs? Why does he shake a lot?" Us nurses, especially Emergency/ICU RNs, we have to desensitize ourselves from many difficult situation, so it's pretty common to see nurses being subjective with our own thinking, especially when it's based on a quick glance on a situation (we, nurses, are on the go). Sometimes, because of busy load of work, we tend to "forget" that we are dealing with humans who have emotions. AND, sometimes, patients & family members also FORGET that they too are dealing with humans. We are humans too, us nurses & doctors. We have emotions and feelings too.
Just like Ellen DeGeneres says all the time, "Be Kind to One Another"... If we only take some time to just listen wholeheartedly, not only you changed that other person's life, it changes yours too.
I hope Mr. Patient is doing okay today.
- Rima
linking up with Treasure Tromp :)
aku mau nangis baca ini....
ReplyDeletehebat ya saudaranya, sampe berkorban banyak buat ngerawat kakakknya.
send all my prayers to both of them.
kasih peluk juga buat mbak Rima :)
oh gosh, this post just about brought me to tears. and I want to give you a big hug as well. You should be so proud, Rima :)
ReplyDeleteSo touching. This is one of the reasons I became a nurse. Even just spending your time sitting and listening to a patient can have a huge impact & make a difference.
ReplyDeleteYou are such an ah-mazing human being. I'm sure being a nurse can be emotionally draining and yet you always give 100% plus to everything you do. Hugs are the best and you deserve many more hugs for all that you do as a nurse :)
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