With all Respect to the Allnurses crew, I hope this doesn't get moved to the Spirituality section, because I'm truly not approaching this from "just" a spiritual standpoint.
I want it where all sorts of Nurses from different walks can respond.
Have you ever witnessed something that took your breath away on the clock? Maybe it was a small miracle, but you never forgot it. But nothing medical or scientific could explain it. Or maybe it could, but yet the odds were against it totally?
Specializes in School Nursing, Public Health, Home Care.
Rehab unit: young quad turning 25, he had been admitted about a month before his birthday. I was working nights (pretty quiet usually) and we decided to decorate his room so he would see it in the am. Fast forward, at least 15 to 20 years, I ran into him at the public library. He was telling the story about how he just wanted to die when first injured. Then he starts telling about the birthday thing. He said "here I was trying to die and these strangers where trying to help me live." That was when he decided to survive. I don't know if he told me the story knowing I was part of that or not. But WOW what a feeling!
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
umcn: did they check him for botulism? somebody might have given him a little honey, which, of course, has botulism spores in it. after age 12 months or so, not a problem, but permeable gut before that means honey is a no-no. saw one of those once.
that's exactly what i thought....and then i thought a guillain barre like syndrome? but botulism is a great thought.
i was working as clinical supervisor when i heard my most dreaded sound at 3 am....code blue l/d. it was because of a prime ip with failure to progress so the nurse practitioner/midwife ruptured her membranes. almost immediately she felt sob, became anxious and tachycardic. she suddenly complained of sharp chest pain and proceeded to have a seizure. she became apnic and pulseless all with in a matter of minutes.
there happened to be an ob/gyn in house when we paged for any surgeon in the house to ob as there was still a fetal heart rate. there "happened" to be the or and anesthesia in the house as they just finished an happy. we rushed her to the or coding her all the way (remember feeling horrible for her husband who was ashen and just crying quietly in the corner completely forgotten about)
the section was performed the baby was born in distress/meconium and finally a heart rate returned but she went into dic. she was transferred from the or to the icu (much to the icu nurses dismay) she was fixed and dilated hopefully from epi and the drugs. the whole time i just kept thinking...oh god please!
76 units of blood, blood products later we were trying to stabilize her to fly her out, it was already 8am.... i noticed her hands tapping the bed. i looked down and i saw her looking at me and she mouthed the words "where's my baby?" as tears ran down her cheeks.
mother and baby went home several weeks later from town and the last i heard the baby started kindergarten last september.
I had a patient come back to life just to say good-bye to his favorite nurse. Mr. Guido, not his name but him being Italian is vital to the story, was going bad..dying. His favorite nurse will call Liz and I were on. From 3PM when we cam on Guido ws going do hill. Liz was up set because she had taken care of Guido for about years. So every time I went into Guido's room, Liz would ask my how he was doing or was gone. I went to lunch about 6, when I came back I went into Guido's room. I found the supervisor there and Liz was trying to hold back here tears. Guido had started Cheyne-stoke respiration. On the night stand was the morgue pack. The supervisor had to leave so I went over to Liz and put my arm around her. She said, "I have to go past my meds, He's Catholic you were Catholic. why don't you do some Catholic stuff." I explained that I wasn't a Catholic anymore. She just said, "Please"
I said I would. She left. I remembered I stood at the foot of Guido's bed and started to say the 'Our father" since I told Liz I would do some Catholic stuff, I said it in Latin, (a hold over from my Alter Boy days). I finished then I went to give my meds I had just complete the med pass when the CNA came up to me and said that she thinks Guido is on his way out. I told Liz and we both entered the room as the patient gave one last breath and that was it. No more breathing, no more heart beats, no BP. Liz and I looked at one another and then we became nurses again. I got Guido's body read as she got out the shroud. We started to wrap the body. 10 minutes had gone by. But as I started to tie the string around the neck I thought I could feel something. Liz said, "Look!' Guido's abdomen was raising and falling. We ripped the shroud away and sure enough he was breathing- almost normally. We took the shroud away, put a gown on him. He continue to improve. By 10 that night he asked the CNA for ice cream. Liz, The CNA, and I went down. There was Mr. Guido sitting up in bed watching the ball game. All the while that we ate ice cream he never took his eyes off Liz,his favorite nurse. At Change of shift, we told him that we have to go now. he said good bye to me. but he grab Liz's hand and gave her a wink. He passed two days later. Happy
Vespertinas
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Wow! I love this thread