anybody ever fallen in love?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

knew that would get ur attention! ;)

has anyone here ever gotten attached to that difficult pt..you know the one ...the staff cringes when the call light comes on...

well i seem to do that somewhat.

i had one the other night, hes ltc (somehow he managed to stay one my rehab floor, go figure!) stroke left side, double aka, . Im doing a double , bout five in the am this man wheels up to me, everyone else finds something else to do... hes tugging on the corner of my scrub... im doing something and tell him hell have to wait a minute..and instead of blowing his top per usual he does, so i finish up very fast as thanks for his pateince,all the while wondering what could he possibly want after ive spent half the shift doing this and that for him... and he leads me over to the courtyard door...and points to the rising sun and we sit and watch the sunrise together...i try not to get too attached but when this little man passes :bluecry1:

Yes,alwaysthere...have gotten the reputation as the nurse who gets all the difficult pts...have been told I have the "uncanny knack" of being able to relate with people of all stations in life, thus I get the most demanding,whiney,outrageous and needy people on my assignment...and it is not unusual for me to get very attached to these folks,either...have shed many a tear when I've found they have died,been transferred to LTC,rehab,etc...my co-workers don't understand me,neither do I. Sometimes I wonder about myself...but as I said in another thread,I do not believe that anyone comes into our lives by accident...just think about the beautiful sunrise you would have missed had he not been tugging on your scrubs that morning...there is an old saying about being careful how you treat people because you may be "in the presence of angels unaware"... I am just a tender-hearted old fart I guess...

Keep your heart tender...:kiss

Yep. I was a CNA, & I had one poor lil guy, in a coma when we got him. I remember it took about 4 of us to turn him and change him, because coma or not, he resisted....and OF COURSE the fam insisted on him having no Foley. He was a GT and always oozing....you know.

Anyhow...as time went on, though he couldn't move or speak, I could tell he was "in there." Eventually he got to the point where I knew him and he'd smile, crook a finger, and grunt. The other girls would call me when he got upset, because I could generally figure out what was the matter. I could change him by myself eventually, and soon I realized that he was glad to see me because I would pull him up high enough so his body wouldn't be all crunched up at the bottom of the bed, with the HOB still cranked up.

One day, I go in the room and my poor lil guy is drenched in sweat and white as a sheet, and I could tell he was glad to see me, but he was too weak to do anything. And dang! we have a new nurse on.

I said, "Look, this fella is not responding right and he's drenched in sweat." She says, "But he's unresponsive anyhow, and GT's always 'run hot,' so how do you know?" so we went round and round and finally one of the other nurses backed me up even though he wasn't her patient that night. We wound up shipping him out to the ER due to his Blood sugar (remember, he was on GT feeds continuous? and his BS shouldn't have been dropping like a rock.)

Anyhow, he came back that time, and then I really kept an eye on him, because if he could've talked, he would've, and I was able to "read" him, where the other girls just wanted to get outta there because he was a "heavy."

Sorry to ramble, but some of my favorite pts have been aphasics. They're so relieved to communicate, you know??

So if you get one, and you recognize that they're in there, and they're scared or frustrated, take the time to make sure that they know you will ALL be working with them to understand them, and that their progress will seem slow, but they WILL progress. Then grab their "good' hand and give it a good squeeze, and watch 'em cry with relief.

OK, I've rambled on long enough.... :rolleyes: don't know what got into me....sorry

Oh Yes

love the most "difficult patients" I find them a challenge to bring out their best:D

One in particular was a patient who had been moved from one hospital to ours because of the bad language, nasty disposition and number of complaints of nursing care.

This patients first comment to me was-

" I'm a miserable old bag with my own opinions. I hate nurses!

I'm the boss and I'll do what I want:devil: "

In reality this patient was a character, who was imensely frightened by her disease and hospitalisation

She spent many hours trying to upset people until I told her enough is enough. I am the boss here and I will not tolerate your behaviour any longer!!!!!!

after months of care and the frequent arguments, she was discharge home.

She presented the unit with a plaque marked- angels

together with many individual presents to staff

Her parting shot-

" Didn't we have FUN :devil: I loved our rows;) "

Now that the type of patient I like

I happen to be in love right now!!!! I have a very special resident that is about to be told he has cancer. He's expecting this DX, but it won't make it any easier. I cannot help but fall in love, repeatedly, that's just me and I wouldn't have it any other way. I am in love with all my residents, male and female and I try to show it everyday, with lots of hugs and I tell them that I love them and they tell me. It's great to be loved and I appreciate their feelings so I make them aware of mine.

you guys are: :cool: wayfarouttoocool !

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

I have only had one really mean patient in all my working years as a nurse. Even then...I gave her lots of TLC, remained patient with her, prayed for her during my daily prayer time at home, and sent her home with a smile on both of our faces. That's rewarding in and of itself! :kiss

Specializes in MDS Coordinator, CWS.

Working in LTC....I would rather them be feisty and mean than unresponsive and lethargic. These are my favorite!!!!:devil:

There used to be a man on our LTC unit. Just a bad nightmare of a patient, Korsakoff's dementia, combattive with everyone and during everything. Used to prey on other residents. He'd get stuck in his mind in these situations in his past like during WWII, and during some kind of labour disputes from his working days and he'd try to attack people because he thought they were part of these flash-backs.

I got to know him towards the end of his life when he was too weak to really hurt somebody, so I guess it was easier to get attached to him. I think he got a little attached to me too. He was (usually) polite with me and I was one of the only people who could ever dress or bath him without major sedation. He once called me sweetheart, which really struck me, because he was usually just cursing at people. Maybe he thought through the cataracts and the dementia that I was his wife or something, because I used to talk to him with a stern tone in my voice (old men seem to like that). He was a brilliant man and I could get him talking for a long time when I was trying to do procedures on him. He told a lot of interesting stories about his life.

Anyway, he fell and broke his hip, had surgery. Was never the same, because he got pressure ulcers from the operating table. Slowly faded. Really affected me when he died.

Specializes in LTC, WCC, MDS Coordinator.

My favorite, a resident in LTC with ALS. Couldn't speak anymore but was a whiz on a letter board spelling everything out. And that chuckle she had. The ALS group provided her with a electric w/c-- HOT PINK! When I saw it the first time, I remarked "Now THAT is hot pink!" and she chuckled when she spelled out "No, I think it's tittie pink!"

Just had to get past her anger at being in the condition she was in.

I still miss her! :bluecry1:

Then there was my LOL who had OC really bad. Spent the day at the sink washing her hands, you had to pad the BP cuff to take her BP, and to make matters worse, she had an illeostomy. Took me about 45 minutes to get her ready for bed every night.

But by golly, she was CLEAN! :chuckle:

It is hard not to. Everybody is special!!! If I work the midnight shift, I like to pamper my patients with pudding(if they are hungry). I like the one to one contact and the pace is a little more relaxed. :)

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