Oh, I am SO HAPPY! MY 14 YEARS SARCOMA PT WAS DYING TWO YEARS AGO,AND SHE`S YET ALIVE

florry · Sep 16, 2005

Two years ago I wrote about Tina.

She was admitted to the hospital after theY finelly found uOt that she didnt had behaviour problems when she was screaming on the table in the classroom. It wasnt ADHD or psychosis.

It was

SARCOMA: in the pelvic, the lungs, all the inner organs accept the brain, the schellet. She couldnt get her stomach to work, and the faeces out. She was operated imediately whithout prepearing her, a 14 year old girl,- so that she would wake up with a stoma on her stomach.

The doctor told us; maybe a month to live, but we dont know. We cant let her dye in strangulation of her tarms. We must try to give her painkillers and stabelize her pain and basic physiologic problems. There were tumor ALL OVER, when they opened her.

Sometimes you get espec. close to patiens. And mayby I was. Her father and stepmother told me; and I am not saying this for thinking I am so much better than other nurses, but the parents said to me: there are many good nurses here, but when you have your night shifts (I only had night-duty), its the only nights when we can rest, totally trust your working when we never wake up because a pump is bibing because iv was empty, or the only time they never heard disturbing noice from her spinal and epidural pumps.

I had my own system when I started my shift; The first thing I did, when I come on shift, was checking all the pumps, the iv sets, and made my backupsystem and made everything that could be done (doing syringes ready) immedietly as the first priority. The father had earlier been irritating because some nurses "didnt have controll" he said,(sure they had, but, they let the pums and it was plenty of them, bib, before shifing; and the pumps was VERY DISTURBING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY IN THE ROOM, ¨because they had to wait until a new iv bag was blended.

I am not telling this because i think I am such a marvellous good nurse.

I am tellïng this, because I have been a patient for a year now. Since I had a drowning accident in a swimming pool one year ago, though not that seriously as canser; but I have learned so much about LISTENING TO PATIENTS, ABOUT GIVING THEM FEEDBACK WHEN I AM ASKING ABOUT SOMETHING (I have never experienced when I was admitted to the hospital, that any doctors or nurses did that to me. A month after the last sepsis/pneumonia hospitalization I suddenly understood and got answer that I asked ät the hospital!

I have after over 20 years in nuring, really understood how important it is to talk to my patiens...and with them...And listening...and managing the technical instrumenst pumps etc, and prepearing my job TOGETHER WITH THE PT AND FAMILY! Do they have spescially needs for the nights, what is imortant to THEM?

Maybe it seems that I have had my job in 25 years without done anything of these things earlier?

Of course, I have done that. But when you suddenlly are a patient yourself, you are starting thinking, and "you are on the other side."

I was starting to tell about Tina. And her family. Yesterday I talked to her again. The 2 years ago period when she was dying; the only thing that matters was authographs from celebreties in our country. I took my car to ¨different broadcasting-fïrms and asked for autographs. She got SO MANY PHOTOS, LETTERS, FLOWERS AND EVEN VISITED THE QUEEN, THAT SHE HAD TO MAKE AN ALBUM. AND SHE WAS SO PROUD - BUT ALSO DYING...

Now, 2 years later, SHE IS STILL ALIVE! OF COURSE SHE GOT CHEMO AND SURGERY, BUT SHE GOT WHAT SHE WANTED MOST OF ALL WHEN SHE WAS IN ICU; AUTGRAPHS. PEAPLE THINKING OF HER, LISTEN TO HER AND NURSES THAT MADE A PLAN, SO THE FAMILY COULD SLEEP! Its not my job alone, but she is still alive. Two years after this "dying period." She is a beauiful 16 years old girl, that is going in high school, she is travelling abroad, she has NO PAIN, she is so proud and beutiful! One of the celebreties that wrote to her two years ago, wanted to meet her now! I wrote an e-mail to him, and he suggested that! I told her this, yesterday, because I called her, and she was excited!

I had never thouht about so little "nursing" or "TLC" can keep a human being alive. I have learned: excepted the things i have described, that SEEING THE HUMAN BEINGS and trying to ANSWERing THEIR NEEDS HERE AND NOW; HOW OMPORTANT IT IS!!!

We dont learn about that small issues at school of nursing, but life has learned me a lot about theese things. Knowledge that I havent read in nursing books (I am a nurse.educator, too). ---NEVER GIVE UP HOPE, AND LISTENING AND DO SOMETHINGS ABOUT "THE SO CALLED SMALL THINGS, BY GIVE THEM AN ANSWER. YES, THANK GOD, TINA IS STILL ALIVE, NO ONE KNOWS FOR HOW LONG, BÜT SHE IS ALIVE! (Sorry Iwrot too long, I had to tell my colleges that we usually do a good job, but sometimes we can reflect a little bit more...)

From Florry :)