Whenever you forget why you became a nurse........

[VivaLasViejas]

..........it's always good to recall the stories all nurses have about the times we made a difference in someone's life. And then share it with another nurse.

Here's a brand new one that happened to me today.

I volunteer one day each month at the local senior citizens' center, doing blood pressure clinics. This being the day after the 4th of July, I wasn't particularly thrilled about dragging my tired carcass into town to do this, as I was up waaay too late last night having water fights with the family, eating BBQ burgers, watching fireworks and comforting my 2-year-old grandson, who was frightened by the loud booms and crackling noises.

But duty called, so there I was promptly at nine AM with my equipment and business cards, greeting my usual clientele and introducing myself to a few new ones who wandered in from exercise class. It was during a slow period that a gentleman whom I'd seen only once, in May, came in and stood in the doorway; I couldn't remember his name, but moved to pick up my BP cuff when he stopped me with a motion of his hand.

"I didn't come in to get my blood pressure done," he said with a slight smile. "I've only been here the one time, and your reading was too high."

I was a little taken aback---an unsatisfied customer, obviously; still, he was being nice about it, so I listened politely. "I kept track of it with the machines they have at Rite Aid and the Fred Meyer pharmacy," he went on, "and they all gave readings that were lower than yours. For a while, anyway."

Now I remembered this man; he'd actually disputed my reading, and requested I take it again, which I did (with similar results). Well, I said, I never recommend those machines. who knows how well they're maintained? Does anyone ever calibrate them? I wanted to argue that I trust only what I can hear when it comes to accurate BPs, and I still stood by my reading, and..........

"Then I got sick........really sick," he continued. "And my blood pressure went sky-high---in fact, it went even higher than your reading. So I went to the doctor, told him about that blood pressure reading you'd taken, and guess what he found?"

I had no clue.

"He poked my stomach, felt something in there he didn't like, and ordered an ultrasound," the gentleman responded, "and they found an abdominal aortic aneurysm the size of a walnut. They put me on a beta-blocker, and I'm having surgery next week."

He paused, then grinned.

"I came here to tell you that if it hadn't been for that high reading you gave me that day, I'd probably never have known about the aneurysm until too late," he said. "They tell me I'm probably going to live another twenty good years once I'm fixed up."

"I just figured you ought to know how one person's life turned out because of the service you do here." And as he waved and walked away, I thought Oh, yeah, now I remember: THAT'S why I do what I do!

[bigsyis]

:balloons:

Congratulations to you, your patience, and your patient teaching skills! You are exactly right-no worldwide acclaim for us, just the occasional satisfaction of knowing that we did make a difference in someone's life!