Have you ever...

[JazzyRN]

Have you ever had a patient ....

So full of energy and life that you looked forward to caring for them whenever they were there?

That was so brave in the face of illness, they never let it get them down?

Always kept a smile on their face and their sense of humor when they were feeling sick or recieved bad news?

You would negotiate to change your assignment in order to be their nurse that day?

That could make you laugh/smile and instantly improve your outlook on your day?

That felt like a member of your own family?

That traded in their wheels for wings so unexpectedly it stole the breath out of your chest?

I lost a patient this week that was so kind, caring, funny and unique that I will never forget him. Try as we might to maintain a professional relationship, once in a while a patient slips through and leaves an imprint on your heart that can never be erased.

I learned so much from you J.M.C. about loving life and staying positive. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to care for and get to know you. You will never be forgotten. R.I.P.

[Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN]

Yes and she had bad CHF and would go into APE if you looked at her wrong. Everyone from the interns to her cardiologist and nurses to resp therapist When the day came and she coded there was not a dry eye in the code We were all sobbing like babies. I remember one day while she was alive she swa a hole in the interns scrubs and she made him drop trou so she could sew it up and she had a needle and thread in her purse We gave him a gown to wear while she sewed them up meanwhile we were all laughing our butts off.

We all fought on who was getting her when she was in CCU. Even the interns fought over her care

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Yes, her name was "Norma" she had mets from ovarian ca. She'd handle her own ostomy bag as it made her feel in control of her illness. When it was obvious she was going that day or that night we took turns sitting with her for 5-15 minutes. When another nurse told me it was time, I told the doc I was rounding with (another of my pet peeves) that I would not be with him today as I was needed in room #.......Most of us were there holding hands for "Norma". That's got to be 20-30 years ago but she was just that special.

[ramkatral]

Sometimes I wish we really got to know patients long enough to develop relationships like that. The only people we get to know well are frequent fliers, and they tend not to be those kinda folks.

[Ayvah, RN]

yes, he was a middle aged man, so full of life. He was funny, very outgoing, energetic and very very positive. I came back 3 days later and he was vomiting, confused, fighting, and kept taking off his oxygen despite low O2 sats. I had to restrain him. I did my best to keep him dignified, clean, and comfortable. We worked on him tirelessly; I called his family when he began coding. It was awful to see this wonderful young man so full of life deteriorate so quickly and have such a difficult death. Our floor really loved him even though he was with us a short time. I still think about him often.

[mytoon38]

Yes, I had a pt many years ago like that. I was a young nurse in my early 20's, and I thought he was really old at the time, he was 42. (Now I would think he was so young!) Anyway, his name was Jack and he had liver CA. The most difficult thing for me was he really still looked pretty healthy, but he was only months away from dying. It was hard for me to accept that he was really going to die.

He was married to a really sweet lady and they had 3 precious little children. She came to the hospital as much as she could, but she had to stay home at night with the children. Sometimes at night, I would go in his room and find him crying. He would tell me that he was crying not because of his illness or his physical pain, but because he didn't want to die and leave his family. I could not help but cry too. When I would cry, he would try to comfort me and tell me all the great things I had to look forward to in my life, and he would tell me all the wonderful times he had in his life. I would quickly realize that I had to be strong, and would try to be a good nurse and comfort him. Some of the older seasoned nurses, used to tell me it was bad to let a pt. see my emotions, but I just could not help it. Sometimes his wife would come early in the morning before I got off, and she would thank me for being there for him, when she couldn't. She told me that he was so thankful that he had me and a couple of other caring, compassionate nurses to care for him.

Anyway, he died one night when I was working. I was so happy I was there to be with him, but I was kind of afraid because he was my first patient death. I knew the time was near, so I called his wife to come in. She made it there right after he died. She asked me if he had any last words, and I felt like she really wanted and needed to hear that he did. I didn't think it was right to lie, but something inside of me just told me it would be o.k. to do it this time. I told her that he said to "Tell them that I will never stop loving them and that I will always be with them, and that I will see them one day in Heaven." She grabbed me and hugged me for a long time, and told me that he told her that exact same thing the day he found out his CA was terminal. I just felt chills go through me, because honestly he just closed his eyes and died, he never said anything at the very end.

That was over 25 years ago, and I still remember it vividly. I will always be thankful I was lucky enough to care for him. I learned a lot about living... from a man that was dying.