Have you received memorable cards and gifts from patients and families that made your day? I have always loved to see the cards, flowers, etc that people will send after our patients go home. Especially I like a progress report that shows our caring made a difference!
We may feel like "just another provider" but when we get a little thanks or recognition, for example, "The best unit my mom has been on" etc., it just helps ease the pain of the trials we face and feeling unappreciated.
I know we aren't supposed to take gifts but my supervisor once made an exception. I was caring for a lady in a nursing home and she passed away. Her family gave me a special watch that was made with abelone shell, it was gorgeous. They just liked how I had cared for her in her last days.
This is something that says "thanks" to all of us - and from some of us, to you. It is written as if people with disabilities might have written it, but it seems to apply to any of our nursing experiences:
BEATITUDES FOR SPECIAL PEOPLE
BLESSED ARE YOU who take time to listen to difficult speech, for you
help us to know that if we persevere we can be understood.
BLESSED ARE YOU who walk with us in public places, and ignore the
stares of strangers, for in your friendship we feel good to be
ourselves.
BLESSED ARE YOU who never bid us to "hurry up" and, more blessed,
you who do not snatch our tasks from our hands to do them for us,
for often we need time rather than help.
BLESSED ARE YOU who stand beside us as we enter new and untried
ventures, for our unsureness will be outweighed by the times when we
surprise ourselves and you.
BLESSED ARE YOU who ask for our help and realize our giftedness, for
our greatest need is to be needed.
BLESSED ARE YOU who help us with the graciousness of Christ, for
often we need the help we cannot ask for.
BLESSED ARE YOU when, by all things, you assure us that what makes
us individuals is not our particular disability or difficulty but
our beautiful God-given person-hood which no handicapping condition
can confine.
REJOICE AND BE EXCEEDINGLY GLAD for your understanding and love have
opened doors for us to enjoy life to its full and you have helped us
I had a 12 year old patient with sickle cell who was a frequent flyer on our pediatric floor. I had taken care of him many times, and he was usually in crisis and in tremendous pain. I did what I could for him, but it is such a terrible disease and we just couldn't control the pain quickly enough. One day he came in for a transfusion, and he wasn't in crisis at the time. He brought some Playdoe with him, and he sculpted a little Winnie the Pooh for me, and said very softly "thanks for helping me when I'm hurting". That was at least 15 years ago, and I still have that Winnie the Pooh.
I had a 12 year old patient with sickle cell who was a frequent flyer on our pediatric floor. I had taken care of him many times, and he was usually in crisis and in tremendous pain. I did what I could for him, but it is such a terrible disease and we just couldn't control the pain quickly enough. One day he came in for a transfusion, and he wasn't in crisis at the time. He brought some Playdoe with him, and he sculpted a little Winnie the Pooh for me, and said very softly "thanks for helping me when I'm hurting". That was at least 15 years ago, and I still have that Winnie the Pooh.
Mrs.M.....that brings a great big lump to the throat..sooo sweet!
I just got one!!! First one I have gotten in a while!! She just needed someone to listen and to pay attention to her, not treat her like she could not understand!! She just wrote, Thank you very much, God Bless! I feel glad that I could help her!!
Specializes in Gerontology/Home Health CM, OB, ICU, MS.
There are several I remember very fondly.
The 1st was a Home Health pt whose wound care I did daily for several weeks. I became very fond of her; we had a lot in common. One of those things was a shared love of the movie "Empire of the Sun". On my last visit day she gave me a copy the movie. (Somehow in conversation it must have come up that I didn't have it on video for some reason).
It was just so thoughtful for her to make note of that, and go out & get it when she was recovering from major surgery. It really touched me, but then I sort of loved her anyway.
The 2nd was the daughter in law of another elderly home care client. She wrote my office & praised me highly & proposed that they give me a raise :yelclap:.
Another was the father of a young family from somewhere in eastern Europe like Poland or Czechoslovakia. Their child was in the hospital, and he was so grateful he told me if I had any plumbing work I needed, he would give me a real good price & do a good job. So, that's how I got a new copper water main more than 20 years ago.
It really means something when someone notices you as a person & doesn't just chalk excellent care up to "it's her job".
A patient's husband presented me with an angel figurine. He said that I was her "guardian angel" because it seemed that whenever she was in trouble, I was there making sure she was transferred to a higher level of care (ICU). I worked on Med/Surg. Not once but twice I found her in distress, the first time was a massive UGI bleed, the second she was in respiratory failure. I still have that angel on my bookcase, it survived a housefire and is a little grey, but I'll never get rid of her.
I have just started the nursing program, but a few years ago I volunteered at an oncology unit in our local hospital. I did'nt really do much, just greeted the patients and did little odd jobs that needed done. There was one lady who came in with her husband to have a treatment done, and she was probably the sweetest lady I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was very sick, but she was still polite to everyone. One day when she came in I started talking to her about different things, and I helped her back to the room and got a blanket for her because she was cold. A few weeks later I learned that she had passed away. I seen her husband some time after that in a restaurant, and he recongnized me and waved me over to the table he was siiting at. He told me how much he appreciated the time I took out to make his wife as comfortable as possible while she was at the clinic. He also told me that his wife had told him about our conversation, and how she appreciated young people that took the time to help that elederly. I was very moved by some of the things that he told me, and after that it was easy for me to make up my mind about becoming a nurse.
I have received several little things such as: a four leaf clover, a small round heart shape stone (i work in cardiac), and cards/letters, but the one that stands out the most was in the beginning of my career I had a pt who was bed bound, a turn q2, incontinent, frequent loose stools, and super grumpy, the basic nightmare. I remember thinking "is this really the career i want".. then a few days later when he was put on comfort care, I had just finished another clean up/complete bed change, and he stopped and grabbed my hand, then with tears in his eyes gave me a weak thank you that spoke volumes to me with just the look he gave me and the quivering lips. In the end I took special care of him, and now that one experience has changed the way I feel about those harder pts. I'll remember it forever.
Mines was from a patient in tele...she was Indian and spoke no English....I gave her a bath, washed her hair, combed it and braid it...I could not understand a word she was saying but i could tell. And she kissed my hand. She was just so sweet.
I felt awful the next day as I was starting my shift....she wasn't my patient anymore, but she was asking me to give her a bath and bring her ice water and etc...I felt so bad...brought her some water and told another nurse to translate that today she has a new nurse.
But yeah...I felt great just being a nurse for her.
A language barrier cannot stop you from being a great nurse.
I took care of this man shortly before Christmas. His daughter had flown in from out of town when she was told he was ill. I only cared for him for one night, the night he passed away. I had encouraged the daughter to go to his house to get some sleep. She had only been gone a short while when things started to go bad. I called her back and she made it before he passed. I was able to stay with her and hold her hand when he passed. I helped her pack his things, silly things that mean a lot to us. His colonge and shaving cream and walked her to her car. At Christmas she sent me a card telling me that she would never forget that I did not leave her alone when the rest of her family could not be with her and that she is not sure how she would have been able to leave the hospital if I had not walked her out. The thought that I will always be a part of her and the last memories of her father have really touched me. I have taken care of other patient's and their families after the loved on dies and they have not touched me as woman did. They may not remember my name but they will remember that nurse.
I was working as a Student Nurse on an Oncology/BMT floor. There was a male patient who was fighting hard and riding the roller coaster with his labs and emotions. He was down and back from MICU a few times that summer. He was a crusty ex-Marine who had definite opinions (he named his urinals after Bill and Hillary Clinton), but he was a nice once you got to know him. There were times when other nurses didn't know what to do with him because he could be so difficult. There were times he was not compliant and simply an irascible codger. He was estranged from one daughter, his son was abroad so his wife was his sole visitor. Against all odds, I managed to get along with him.
One night he was extremely depressed and delirious from a fever and had quite a bit of meds on board. I had changed his sheets several times during my shift to keep comfortable and from shivering. That evening was fairly light so I had the time to spend with him. I sat at his bedside and he looked at me in obvious misery and asked me "if it was ok to die" but he was so afraid that his wife would be angry at him for not fighting anymore. Needless to say I was stunned but I said to him that he had to do what was best for him and he knew deep down his wife loved him. I recalled several incidents and times I was in the room with her and how she joked with him, inquired about his progress with the team outside the room, how she hunted down videos throughout the hospital so he could watch them on his TV. I think every nurse on that floor saw or heard John Wayne single-handedly win World War II. I held his hand that night as he cried and then he cheered up, and asked if I would visit him tomorrow. I said yes. He went into a deep sleep. I had to unloosen his grip on my hand.
Next day I came into the room. It happened to be my day off. We talked, joked, and he was a completely different person. His wife was there and smiling. You would never know he had a dark, difficult night. As I was leaving he called out to me and said, "Thanks, for keeping your promise. It means a lot to me." I genuinely thought he forgot everything because his condition was vastly improved.
Outside his room I was approached by a nurse, who I knew well and respected, but she was rather nervous about approaching me. Three other nurses had put her up to approaching me and asking why I came in to see a patient on my day off. What passed through my mind I couldn't type here. The tone behind the question was clearly snarky. Rather than answer her directly I looked at three who were within earshot and replied "I keep my promises."
The patient died a few weeks later. His wife had taken a picture of the two of us together. There he was in his precautions gown, bald and looking like a bad version of Yoda in mask with his arm on my shoulder. I still have that photo and when I feel down or incompetent I think of him knowing I made a difference.
I couldn't stand his politics, his humor was more than a little off and he was definitely opinionated, but I saw a scared man trying to maintain his dignity. If I had his illness and prognosis I would be terrified.
The patient is what matters. I keep telling myself that. I began to understand that in this profession your presence, your technical knowledge, and the relationships you have with families, which I don't think doctors have as in depth as nurses, are what matters. I was a Student Nurse then and I am an RN now.
I was working as a Student Nurse on an Oncology/BMT floor. There was a male patient who was fighting hard and riding the roller coaster with his labs and emotions. He was down and back from MICU a few times that summer. He was a crusty ex-Marine who had definite opinions (he named his urinals after Bill and Hillary Clinton), but he was a nice once you got to know him. There were times when other nurses didn't know what to do with him because he could be so difficult. There were times he was not compliant and simply an irascible codger. He was estranged from one daughter, his son was abroad so his wife was his sole visitor. Against all odds, I managed to get along with him.
One night he was extremely depressed and delirious from a fever and had quite a bit of meds on board. I had changed his sheets several times during my shift to keep comfortable and from shivering. That evening was fairly light so I had the time to spend with him. I sat at his bedside and he looked at me in obvious misery and asked me "if it was ok to die" but he was so afraid that his wife would be angry at him for not fighting anymore. Needless to say I was stunned but I said to him that he had to do what was best for him and he knew deep down his wife loved him. I recalled several incidents and times I was in the room with her and how she joked with him, inquired about his progress with the team outside the room, how she hunted down videos throughout the hospital so he could watch them on his TV. I think every nurse on that floor saw or heard John Wayne single-handedly win World War II. I held his hand that night as he cried and then he cheered up, and asked if I would visit him tomorrow. I said yes. He went into a deep sleep. I had to unloosen his grip on my hand.
Next day I came into the room. It happened to be my day off. We talked, joked, and he was a completely different person. His wife was there and smiling. You would never know he had a dark, difficult night. As I was leaving he called out to me and said, "Thanks, for keeping your promise. It means a lot to me." I genuinely thought he forgot everything because his condition was vastly improved.
Outside his room I was approached by a nurse, who I knew well and respected, but she was rather nervous about approaching me. Three other nurses had put her up to approaching me and asking why I came in to see a patient on my day off. What passed through my mind I couldn't type here. The tone behind the question was clearly snarky. Rather than answer her directly I looked at three who were within earshot and replied "I keep my promises."
The patient died a few weeks later. His wife had taken a picture of the two of us together. There he was in his precautions gown, bald and looking like a bad version of Yoda in mask with his arm on my shoulder. I still have that photo and when I feel down or incompetent I think of him knowing I made a difference.
I couldn't stand his politics, his humor was more than a little off and he was definitely opinionated, but I saw a scared man trying to maintain his dignity. If I had his illness and prognosis I would be terrified.
The patient is what matters. I keep telling myself that. I began to understand that in this profession your presence, your technical knowledge, and the relationships you have with families, which I don't think doctors have as in depth as nurses, are what matters. I was a Student Nurse then and I am an
RN
now.
Sometimes I wonder why I'm going through all the sweat and tears as a student. But, reading things like this are what opens my eyes as to the whys I have in my head. Thank you so much for posting this. I'm still trying to keep my eyes dry.
There are times I wonder if I'll ever be good enough or know enough because there are times I have no idea what I'm doing. I even wonder how it is that I got into nursing school, when really, I'm not cut out for it. I just hope I become a good enough nurse so that I am able to make a difference in someone's life as you did. :)
I am not a Nurse YET. But come heck or high water I will be. I start CNA class in 2 weeks. I am not going into Nursing for the thank yous. I am going into it because it is right for me and will allow me to care for people and to make someones life a little better. I am a man, you know one of the big, bad, tough type. well maybe not big :). As I read these I am both laughing and crying. I have alway been a bit of a softy. I cried at my wedding, the birth of all 3 of my boys. I hope that I can have to opportunity to touch someones life as many of you have in these stories.
Thank you for posting these stories and for all the hard work you all do on a daily basis sometimes in less that desirable conditions. May God bless and watch over you and your charges.
Mrs. M.
47 Posts
I had a 12 year old patient with sickle cell who was a frequent flyer on our pediatric floor. I had taken care of him many times, and he was usually in crisis and in tremendous pain. I did what I could for him, but it is such a terrible disease and we just couldn't control the pain quickly enough. One day he came in for a transfusion, and he wasn't in crisis at the time. He brought some Playdoe with him, and he sculpted a little Winnie the Pooh for me, and said very softly "thanks for helping me when I'm hurting". That was at least 15 years ago, and I still have that Winnie the Pooh.