I know I'm different

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

I just commented on a post regarding LVNs and stable patients. It was rather lengthy. But I'll try to keep this one shorter because I have things to do today.:)

The scenario regarding the death of my trach patient had so much 'invisibility' surrounding it. That evening at work (home health trach assignment), a couple of strange things happened. The first thing was that my non-ambulatory patient got up and walked up the hall to the kitchen. Not realizing at the time that he was indeed non-ambulatory, I thought nothing of it. I proceeded to straighten his bed since he was up. I tried to turn on the lamp but it was broken.

Anyway, I checked on my patient and saw that he'd left a trail on the hallway floor leading into the kitchen. I escorted him back to bed and cleaned the mess. When I returned to his room, the lamp was on...brightest light you ever want to see! But, it was NOT plugged in. I looked at him; he shrugged his shoulders in an I-have-no-idea fashion. That was my cue that something...different(?)...was going on.

The morning before my shift, I was uneasy and I'd decided that I wouldn't go to work. So, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Shortly after that, the alarm clock went off. Mind you, the clock's alarm had been broken for a year. Anyway, I hit it and it stopped. I went back to sleep. Then the phone rang....only one time. I answered it and no one was there...not even a dial tone.

So, since it seemed that sleeping in was out of the question, I got up, readied myself for work, and off I went. Little did I know that I was to spend my day with my patient as he spent his last day on Earth. This was in 1998, or thereabouts.

Since then, my relationship with God has grown. I still have a long way to go, seeing as though my brothers are sailors and the 'mouth' tends to rub off on me at times. But my 'gift', in addition to caring for others, is that I see certain events of what's to come. I finally told my oldest brother about this last year, and of course, bring the tangible rationalist that he is, he wanted proof.

Well, in my case proof can come in a week, month, or year. Here lately with all the commotion in my life, it's been coming in a matter of days. I tried to explain that I'm not psychic, and that he'd been watching too much tv. But I'll definitely keep him informed when the episode starts.

And it did! I dreamed there was going to be a break-in, I thought, with one of my brothers. All I could see was a trashed room, broken glass, just utter chaos. I made a phone to check on them. Everything was ok.

Three months later, my oldest brother heard a crash at 3am; grabbed his gun (believing that someone was breaking in), and went to investigate. As it turns out, a hot water heater leakage had caused decay in the attic floor as a result, the ceiling gave way, and completely destroyed a room upstairs.

There have been many, MANY events, good and bad, even deaths of family members that I've 'dreamed' of in advance of the actual occurrence. But I say ALL of this to say that God has a plan for me, as us all, and sometimes, we may see His plan in the eyes of those we serve...and care for. I don't know why I felt compelled to post here today. I guess the previous post to the person fearful of unstable patients got me to thinking about my own encounters with spirituality and death.

Sorry I couldn't keep it short. I tried, honestly. Thank you for reading..

[CryssyD]

There are a lot of things in this world that we don't yet understand. People can perceive things in ways we haven't quite discovered how to describe yet--some people can see past events in others' lives, some can discern a person's character instantly. Energy may flow in patterns we haven't discovered. We don't know all that we don't know, if you know what I mean. When I see or experience things that I can't explain rationally, I tend to just accept that I don't understand and not worry about it.

As far as the non-ambulatory patient suddenly walking, a fellow nurse once told me that people nearing death can have a sudden, temporary improvement in their condition. I don't know if it's true, but maybe she had experienced something like you did.

I personally believe in prophecy, as it is supposed to be a gift of the Spirit. However, on finding that one has been gifted, focus on the Giver, not the gift--it is easy to get so wrapped up in a special ability that you can forget what it is supposed to do--as are all things in the life of a believer: glorify God.

Interesting post.

[BeenThere2012, ASN, RN]

There are a lot of things in this world that we don't yet understand. People can perceive things in ways we haven't quite discovered how to describe yet--some people can see past events in others' lives, some can discern a person's character instantly. Energy may flow in patterns we haven't discovered. We don't know all that we don't know, if you know what I mean. When I see or experience things that I can't explain rationally, I tend to just accept that I don't understand and not worry about it.

As far as the non-ambulatory patient suddenly walking, a fellow nurse once told me that people nearing death can have a sudden, temporary improvement in their condition. I don't know if it's true, but maybe she had experienced something like you did.

I personally believe in prophecy, as it is supposed to be a gift of the Spirit. However, on finding that one has been gifted, focus on the Giver, not the gift--it is easy to get so wrapped up in a special ability that you can forget what it is supposed to do--as are all things in the life of a believer: glorify God.

Interesting post.

I have seen many a patient suddenly "improve" a bit right before passing...

I have some experiences with patients I cannot explain...

I once made a med error that could have been catastrophic, but actually "helped" the patient. Long story, but after being too unstable to go to the OR, this patient finally improved enough after weeks of being very unstable, nearly loosing him several times. His whole course changed for the better and eventually recovered. Earlier that night, his family prayed around his bedside and I heard them say, "...and please protect ......(insert my name). I thought that was odd....protect me? And then later that night I made the "error". My life changed forever as I went down the road of being investigated and charged by my BRN for this.

Another time later, I was helping with a patient as a resource nurse off and on throughout the day. Towards the end of the shift after a horrible ordeal to control hemorrhage, the nurse assigned asked me to help while she caught up on charting. She asked me to give the GT meds. There were several. As I gave them one by one, while giving the last one, the syringe slipped out of the GT and the med squirted on the bed. Just as I was thinking , "oh crap, now I have to go get another dose", I remembered earlier in the day that the patient had diarrhea and that last med was Colace.

I'm sure many would say these are simply coincidences, but I really wonder sometimes...