Thank you for this article; the story, writing, and emotions were beautiful. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes as well.
I've had a patient for the past two days that is going downhill very quickly. I was with her yesterday when the MD told her there was nothing more we could do for her. She's a precious lady - very gracious and ready to rest. I spent as much time as I could with her yesterday. I held her hand while the doctor broke the news to her, and we hugged frequently throughout the day. We celebrated her life together, and yes, we cried together.
Typically, I consider tears to be the highest expression of weakness, but I've learned that sometimes it takes strength to cry. Suppressing emotions is a way to protect ourselves from having to feel them. It takes strength to allow our vulnerabilities to show - and yes, sometimes our humanity. As difficult as yesterday was for me, I wouldn't change a thing. The patient was still alive when I left last night, but I've wondered about her all day today. She declined so quickly - right in front of my eyes. Being a nurse means being a professional, but sometimes it also means being human. Most of the time a patient's needs are physical, but sometimes they're emotional or spiritual. I believe it's our duty to be there emotionally and spiritually as well as physically, and I believe that's what nursing is all about.
Godspeed, sweet lady. I hope I touched your life just a fraction as much as you've touched mine.
Rectal foreign bodies are all too common - and the bane of most endoscopy personnel. We joke that you can't call yourself a GI nurse or tech till you've come in for at least 1 rectal foreign body. I've never had to retrieve a light bulb, though, and I only know of 1 of the docs I work with who's had that experience. People put crazy things up there. I don't care what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms, but for God's sake, I wish they'd use something that's *intended* to go there.
Thank you for this article; the story, writing, and emotions were beautiful. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes as well.
I've had a patient for the past two days that is going downhill very quickly. I was with her yesterday when the MD told her there was nothing more we could do for her. She's a precious lady - very gracious and ready to rest. I spent as much time as I could with her yesterday. I held her hand while the doctor broke the news to her, and we hugged frequently throughout the day. We celebrated her life together, and yes, we cried together.
Typically, I consider tears to be the highest expression of weakness, but I've learned that sometimes it takes strength to cry. Suppressing emotions is a way to protect ourselves from having to feel them. It takes strength to allow our vulnerabilities to show - and yes, sometimes our humanity. As difficult as yesterday was for me, I wouldn't change a thing. The patient was still alive when I left last night, but I've wondered about her all day today. She declined so quickly - right in front of my eyes. Being a nurse means being a professional, but sometimes it also means being human. Most of the time a patient's needs are physical, but sometimes they're emotional or spiritual. I believe it's our duty to be there emotionally and spiritually as well as physically, and I believe that's what nursing is all about.
Godspeed, sweet lady. I hope I touched your life just a fraction as much as you've touched mine.
Thank you for this article; the story, writing, and emotions were beautiful. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes as well.
I've had a patient for the past two days that is going downhill very quickly. I was with her yesterday when the MD told her there was nothing more we could do for her. She's a precious lady - very gracious and ready to rest. I spent as much time as I could with her yesterday. I held her hand while the doctor broke the news to her, and we hugged frequently throughout the day. We celebrated her life together, and yes, we cried together.
Typically, I consider tears to be the highest expression of weakness, but I've learned that sometimes it takes strength to cry. Suppressing emotions is a way to protect ourselves from having to feel them. It takes strength to allow our vulnerabilities to show - and yes, sometimes our humanity. As difficult as yesterday was for me, I wouldn't change a thing. The patient was still alive when I left last night, but I've wondered about her all day today. She declined so quickly - right in front of my eyes. Being a nurse means being a professional, but sometimes it also means being human. Most of the time a patient's needs are physical, but sometimes they're emotional or spiritual. I believe it's our duty to be there emotionally and spiritually as well as physically, and I believe that's what nursing is all about.
Godspeed, sweet lady. I hope I touched your life just a fraction as much as you've touched mine.
Rectal foreign bodies are all too common - and the bane of most endoscopy personnel. We joke that you can't call yourself a GI nurse or tech till you've come in for at least 1 rectal foreign body. I've never had to retrieve a light bulb, though, and I only know of 1 of the docs I work with who's had that experience. People put crazy things up there. I don't care what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms, but for God's sake, I wish they'd use something that's *intended* to go there.
Thank you for this article; the story, writing, and emotions were beautiful. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes as well.
I've had a patient for the past two days that is going downhill very quickly. I was with her yesterday when the MD told her there was nothing more we could do for her. She's a precious lady - very gracious and ready to rest. I spent as much time as I could with her yesterday. I held her hand while the doctor broke the news to her, and we hugged frequently throughout the day. We celebrated her life together, and yes, we cried together.
Typically, I consider tears to be the highest expression of weakness, but I've learned that sometimes it takes strength to cry. Suppressing emotions is a way to protect ourselves from having to feel them. It takes strength to allow our vulnerabilities to show - and yes, sometimes our humanity. As difficult as yesterday was for me, I wouldn't change a thing. The patient was still alive when I left last night, but I've wondered about her all day today. She declined so quickly - right in front of my eyes. Being a nurse means being a professional, but sometimes it also means being human. Most of the time a patient's needs are physical, but sometimes they're emotional or spiritual. I believe it's our duty to be there emotionally and spiritually as well as physically, and I believe that's what nursing is all about.
Godspeed, sweet lady. I hope I touched your life just a fraction as much as you've touched mine.