The Patient you will NEVER forget...

[LasVegasRN]

Okay, this is my very first thread, so... be gentle :blushkiss

I'm sure everyone has run into a "Buster" in at some point in bedside (or otherwise) care.

"Buster" was a 23 year old male. I can't remember what happened to him but he was in the Neuro ICU on a PhenoBarb drip for an induced coma. He had a constant fever and we kept him naked except for cooling blanket and a cloth to cover his "privates".

Well... "Buster" could not have a washcloth to cover him, he required, and I do emphasize REQUIRED, a TOWEL to cover him up... down there. I think at some point every nurse (female, well, and some male ) came to see this patient that required a TOWEL to cover him up. I had never, and still have not seen any male that well... er, uh...covered...in my life!!! He required a suprapubic cath because the Foley was not long enough. :imbar

Interestingly, as bad off as "Buster" was medically, he survived and I saw him about 6 months later (yes, I remembered his face). I was moving out of an apartment and he was on the elevator. He had some apparent neuro deficits in his gait and speech, but he was ambulating with a cane independently.

[Veneta Masson]

You could write a book, yes, but you could also think about writing a short article for American Journal of Nursing's "Reflections" column. I'd be happy to talk to anyone who's interested in writing a first-person essay about nursing, health or health care. You can reach me at [email protected]. As Barry Holstun Lopez wrote, "Everything is held together with stories."

[harleyrnac]

The lady who had MI after MI when I was a very young charge nurse. They finallly decided to let her go. The night we knew she was dying, I took the floor and let my other nurse sit with her. They prayed and sang hymns. She said,"I talked to God and told Him how good you girls were to me. He said that from now on, whenever you see a butterfly, you'll have good luck." Then she died peacefully. Over twenty years later, whenever I see a butterfly, I feel blessed.

The little Navajo baby I cared for during his birth and later when it was discovered he had several birth defects, including an inoperable heart condition. I was pregnant with my first baby, so I'd rock baby Vernon with my own unborn child and sing "Yes, Jesus loves me" to them. I really loved that little boy. He died after a few months; my daughter is 18 now.

The elderly man who was admitted to our ECF after having been abused at his previous ECF. He fell in love with me and told everyone, including his children who were older than me, that we were married. In his fantasy, we had five sons and an apple orchard. He remembered his "first" wife's name and all his children, but truly believed we were married. He didn't live very long after he came to us(massive CVA), but his kids said he died happy.