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| |  A great feeling
 It's a great day when you hear a "thank you" but its a wonderful day when you hear " There's the nurse that saved my life", Lately, I have heard that alot from people at work, you see I work in a prison, staffed with 158 officers, and 42 ancillary staff. Appprox 3mth ago, an officer came to the medical department with chest pain, elevated b/p, classic symptoms of a heart attack, i insisted on calling an ambulance to send him out for evaluation at the ER, he declined, I went to the captain & was told i couldnt force him to go by ambulance, they called a code 3 in the lobby of the jail, i responding with the crash cart & 2 other staff to find the officer on the floor, he collapsed before he got to the front door, myself along with another LPN & a medical assistant obtained vital signs, I obtained an EKG, and sure enough he showed a block, when the paramedics got to the scene, they shipped him to the cardiac unit in the ICU, he received 3 stents, he returned to work 2 mths later, about 8 days after his return he came to medical & had similar symptoms but more fatigue, weakness & some odd findings, a mild rash around the arms & chest area, a "fullness" or congestion feeling in his chest. I informed him that since his stent placement was only 8 weeks old, we had to ship him by ambulance to the ER to find out if his stents were blocked or he was allergic to something (medications) that they had put him on post op, he again declined my ambulance ride to the ER, again, Code 3 to the lobby, again he was on the floor, this time he was completely out of it, confused, pso2% 88, pulse 122 b/p was 160/112...... .. his resp rate was odd, 1st min it was 24 , 2nd min it was 6-8, he was diaphoretic as all get out........... the medics came, i gave them the vitals & the EKG strip which showed an infarct......... ICU for him once again Yesturday- 3 mths after this 2nd collapse , the officer returned, he stopped me in the hallway and gave me a big hug & said "thank you for saving my life", "sorry i was such a bullheaded man", his stents had sclorosed, he had to have a bi-pass done to fix the problem, come to find out, he had an allergic reaction to the agents on the stents, so they sclorosed within the 8 weeks after the procedure , without the bi-pass he would have died! There are many rewarding days in nursing but to hear those words  "thank you for saving my life", makes your skin get goose bumps & brings a smile to my face! Every day is a great day to be a nurse. YOu can make a difference. Side note, this Officer is 40 yrs old with 3 children at home! Its a rewarding Job... I wouldnt want to be anything else! 
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Dec 03, 2008, 08:07 AM
 Re: A great feeling
Great story--gives me the goosebumps...
| | No. 5 |
Dec 05, 2008, 10:03 PM
I applaud every nurse ! No matter RN or LPN, we all have a big job in our hands that we take seriously! We can & will save lives, on the flip we will lose lives as well, but not because we want to but because thats the way medicine works
My mom bought me a coffee mug that says: Nurses are All Heart
I believe that!  | 
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