The patients you will never forget

HappyNurse2005, RN · Dec 11, 2004

some of my more memorable ones, a toddler who was accidentally hit by a car and was in the hospital for 3 weeks, had 2 or 3 surgeries. she just touched my heart, she was sooo sweet.

another baby who had been a micropreemie, crack baby, CMV, BPD, and more.was a 6 pound 4 month old when i saw her. mom didnt have custody of her, her aunt did, her aunt who had her own infant at home, but was at the hospital every day with this sweet little baby. i just remember her crying b/c she had been called that her own son was sick at home, and she felt so bad about going home to be wiht her son and leaving the girl at the hospital.

a middle aged woman who had a hemicolectomy/ileostomy. i had her 1 day postop. she was so unsure of herself, afraid of hurting herself getting up, walking, etc. i helped her to walk, did some teaching, etc. normal stuff. but when i was leaving she told me thank you for giving her the extra push she needed. sniff...i was going to cry!

i will also not forget the adolescent who had the hospital chaplain bring him holy water in milk jugs. (was it actually holy or just blessed, i have no idea) he thought it would make him better. he also had an obsession with monopoly. very interesting, and an interesting case, as he had a pretty rare disease.

and im only a student!

so much more to see out there!

rose

KacyLynnRN · Dec 11, 2004

I used to work home health care, and I had a pt. who was in his late sixties and dying of terminal cancer. He also happened to be homosexual, and his whole family had turned against him years ago when he had come out. He was the sweetest, good person I have ever met. He had been a hairdresser, and on one of his 'good days' when he felt good, he gave me the best haircut I'd ever had. I told him he didn't have to, but he insisted, since it was the one thing he could give me in return for my visits. He loved White Castle hamburgers, and it became a tradition that I would pisk 2 or 3 up for him on the way to his house. Towards the end, it was the only thing he would eat. When he passed away, I was very upset for a long time, and I knew I had to get out of home health care and do something a little less personal for awhile. I just always thought it was so sad that such a sweet person had no family and few friends just because of his sexual orientation. What a waste.

GAgirl · Dec 11, 2004

He was 22 when he died of AML December 27th. He absolutely touched my heart. I helped him do his Christmas shopping on line. He wanted to get his family some gifts before he died. When they showed up on my doorstep, I wrapped them for him and took them to his family at the hospital. He had been transferred to ICU that afternoon. He had told me he would never get another haircut. Since he had been diagnosed, every time his hair grew back and he got it cut, his leukemia relapsed. He was such a sweetheart.

proudmommielpn · Dec 11, 2004

When I worked in LTC I had one that would always holler "HEY" time after time. I asked her one day why do you keep hollering? Her response was, at least you know I am still alive! :)

Another one was always sitting in her geri-chair coloring and she asked me for my hand and I gave it to her and she put my hand on her forehead and I asked her why she did that and she said, well now you'll know what I felt like before I died.

Lastly, I had this one we called "Pap" he reminded me so much of my hero, my papaw. He was dying and I knew it and he wasn't eating anything, he would usually eat for me when no one else. I went in and asked him what I could bring him that he would eat, anything that he wanted. He said, "Sissy, I sure do like fried green tomatoes" I said , ok I will bring you some tomorrow. He told me sissy don't tell me you're gonna bring them and then don't. I said Pap I will bring them in the morning. I brought them and he ate 1/2 of them at lunch and I left the rest in the refrigerator for supper. They said he ate the rest of them at supper. You know the man went into a coma that night and passed away the next day. It feels good knowing I gave him his last wish. I still miss him. :crying2:

CardioTrans, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2004

In 15 yrs of home care there are so many, but one that sticks out the most was a patient that had been diagnosed with colon cancer. I admitted him to home care about 3 wks after his dx.

He had lost all his hair to chemo, he always kept vaseline on his head to keep it from drying out, well he had a light right over his bed, and his head shined.... I called him "sunshine" whenever I saw him.

I went to see him for a regular visit, and he was talking to me about dying. He was a retired minister, and told me that a person was like a walnut..... a walnut shell was empty without the nut in it, and a person was empty without God in their lives. We talked about his "ultimate chemo treatment". When I got ready to leave that day, he asked when I would be back... I told him in 2 days..... he told me to come "kiss sunshine on the head, I wont be here when you get back". I made a point to see him early the next visit. He passed away 15 min before I got to his house......... He got the ultimate treatment that day.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2004

Wonderful thread.

About 7 years ago, I was working inpt hospice. Our census was pretty low for a while, so I got to know one pt very well. He was an elderly man, dying of cancer. He had no friends or family in the area. He never told us why he was all alone, and I never asked. He was very handsome, distinguished and dignified. And... he was the most compliant pt I've ever had. He knew he was dying, but accepted it. Still he drank all of his Ensure, ate all of his meals and turned himself using his trapeze bar q 2 hrs.

He said I'm know I'm going to die, but I might as well maintain what I've got for as long as I can." I gave him a copy of the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good night" and he put it up in his room.

We became friends. He had a couple of funny knick-names for me, and I had a couple for him. I worked nocs, and he's almost always be reading in bed or watching TV when I did my initial rounds.

I'd ask him how he was and he'd always say "I'm doing great, now that my favorite nurse is here."

His spinal tumor was cutting off the circulation to his lower body, and he developed huge decubs. At least they did not hurt him, as he also lost sensation in his lower body. Being clean and well-groomed was very important to him. We helped him maintain his immaculate grooming, and he got wonderful wound care.

When the end grew near, he got quieter and quieter as he lost his strength. He could no longer chat but would say "Just sit here with me and hold my hand."

I would pulll up a chair next to his bed and hold his hand while he fell asleep.

He was a very private person and tried not to show that he was scared, but I could see it in his eyes. Having his hand held seemed to bring him a lot of comfort.

I told him how much I would miss him when he was gone. He smiled, and said he was glad someone would.

He actually seemed to be improving a little, so the bosses had him transfered to an Adult Care Home saying he was not actively dying. Unfortunately, he died two days later.

Thinking of him brings a smile to my face and a tear to my eye at the same time.

What a dear, dear man he was.

butterflynurse · Dec 11, 2004

I work in LTC. I had this one lady who could be so mean at times. As time went on she began to like me. Shen never called me by the right name though. She always called me Cahterine. I eventually started answering to this.:chuckle When I was pregnant, all she could talk about was holding my baby. She told me not to work too hard or bend and lift to much, and that I should'n be at work. After I had my baby, I brought him to see her and the biggest smile lit up her face.

Sadly she died a week later. :crying2: I brought the baby by to see her and at the very moment I got there, the hopital called and said she didn't make it. She had coded earlier in the day. I cried like a baby. Losing her felt like losing a blood relative I had known my whole life.

boulergirl, CNA · Dec 11, 2004

I'll never forget this one Italian New Yorker we had on the Alzheimer's unit. She would change moods on a dime, and would sing the old songs at any given time. (And I think she knew them all!) While she's on the toilet, she'd say, "Gee, I'm so hungry I could eat a house" then sing "hey good-lookin', what ya got cookin'". One of her favorites was "I want a girl just like the one that married dear ol' Dad". She would love you one minute and cuss you out the next. And sometimes she'd start speaking in Italian. When her dementia got worse things really got interesting. One night I heard someone knocking on the wall, so I went in her room and found her in the bathroom closet sitting on the floor. She thought she was trapped in a car. Another time she came out of her room butt-naked, saying "I don't have any clothes!" Then she refused to wear her own clothes, saying it wasn't her stuff.

I liked her though. One of my favorite things to do for her was put on some Jimmy Durante music after I'd gotten her ready for the day and she was resting in the living room. That music pepped her up and got her singing.

"I used to like to foh-dee-oh-oh, that was long ago...."

Sadie04 · Dec 11, 2004

I was working on a neuro unit and had man in his 70's with a Glioblastoma who had been in several times to have his tumor resected. He had been a local veterinarian before he retired and was the sweetest man I ever met. You could tell many people loved him, as he had a constant stream of visitors. His wife and daughter rarely left his side. He knew he was dying and accepted it, although his wife and daughter were still very hopeful he would pull through. He had a great sense of humor and was always making us all laugh. I took care of him a lot and probably got a little too attached to him and his family. They always brought chocolates for the nurses. The last time he came in I knew it was probably his last surgery. He kept having seizures and tumor was bigger than ever. I went home after that shift in tears thinking about how I would probably never see him again. I'm sure he's in a better place now and no longer in pain but I still think of him from time to time.

crazyearrings · Dec 11, 2004

A lovely 15 yr old girl with AML. When she started to lose her hair from chemo, her friends were supposed to all get their hair cut with her. Her stepdad showed up with the clippers and her friends did not show up. I got my hair cut with her (1/4 inch all over) and told her, if her nurse who only knew her for three weeks was willing to cut her hair, her friends had no excuse. This girl told everyone I was her favorite nurse and crocheted a doily for me. She went to Houston for a BM transplant. Six months later, she died of TTP with her family and I at bedside. Her dad actually thaked me for loving her. My heart broke. My hair has grown back, but a piece of my heart never will.

dolphinRN · Dec 11, 2004

One of the first patients I had when I transferred from a surgery unit to oncology was a man in his mid 40s dealing with AML. Any time he was admitted for treatments, one nurse would state that he only took his Demerol to escape the truth ( I thought that this was his business). He had a very supportive family who would make sure he had everything he needed to make his stays as comfortable as possible. He would always bring his boombox and a huge collection of cds. I always enjoyed taking care of him because we would talk about life experiences and also about music, which we had in common. We would discuss our favorite songs and why. One that he enjoyed was REO Speedwagon's "Live Every Moment".

He always made the comment that if he couldn't be home when it was his turn to die, he wanted to be at our hospital. Unfortunately, when it came time, he was too sick to make it to our VA, so he died at the one closest to him. When I found out, I couldn't think about him for a long time without a tear coming to my eye. It also took me awhile before I could play that song without crying. I can listen to it now, but I still think of him and that has been nearly 9 years ago.