My Best Deaf Patient!

[nievesa]

When I was a young graduate, I remember I had a pediatric patient and his mom was deaf. She was trying to tell me that something was happening in the room of her son, but I was very frustrated because I was not able to understand her hand movements. I thought she was upset or angry with me. I went to the room and the IV pump alarm was flashing (the line has air). That was an awkward moment for me because I did not know how to understand deaf people. And that broke my heart.

I've been a Registered Nurse for about 14 years. I have cared for many patients. Maybe I have forgotten some of them, others are still in my heart as they were the first time I met them.

I remember this little baby. She weighed 5 pounds 7 ounces and was very tiny. She had Thrombocytopenia and received Garamycin for awhile in NICU. When she was 3 months, her mother was in shock when the audiologist told to her that her daughter was deaf. OMG! Nobody in the family was deaf so they were all scared about all the typical questions about her health and future.

In that moment, I confirmed what I always had in my mind! I have to learn American Sign Language (ASL). What will happen if I have another deaf patient again? ASL it's so important for the Health Professionals. So I decided to enroll in ASL course. I learned at a very fast pace how to sign my name, and the basic words I need to communicate. I am still practicing and learning, but I know more signs that I knew before.

The mother of the little girl looked all over Puerto Rico to see what she could do to help her daughter. Not only pray for a miracle at nights, she looked for a specialist in Puerto Rico that might help her girl. Finally, she found an ENT who accepted her in order to perform the surgery for cochlear implant (a new procedure in the Island). She was one and a half years old... When I recently saw the pictures of that moment, two tears came from my eyes! The surgery took about three hours. Her mom was very anxious and worried. But the girl was so strong, stronger than the family. She was discharged from the hospital the next day and had her processor a few months later. The first time she could hear, she just cried. Her mom cried too!

Since that time, I encouraged the nurses and other health professionals how important it is to know at least the basics of ASL. Being deaf in a speaking society is like being in another country where the people cannot understand you and speak another language. Even worse, because being deaf is a limitation that is not easily recognized until you speak to the person and the person does not answer you.

Unfortunately more than 38,225,590 have hearing problems in United States. (1)

And the question we have to ask as a nurse is...Do I know ASL?

Once I took the ASL course, I learned another way of speech, another way to love, and another way to communication.

Speech, Love, and Communication

• I not only can sign I AM YOUR NURSE, I also can sign I LOVE YOU and CAN I HELP YOU?
• I understand THIS HURTS! And, I HAVE HEADACHE!
• I also understand MOM, I LOVE YOU when my daughter was signing back to me.

That little princess is my baby and now I know ASL because of her.

Ten years later she speaks and hears almost perfect. She is an honor student, she speaks and also knows ASL. I am still learning that you do not have to wait until a family member has a situation to do something for others. Do it now!

[nievesa, BSN, RN]

Love to all that make the effort and differnce for the deaf and hard to hearing population. Bless you all.