Moments: Episode 5

Another Moments post! The posts where I get the most comments/compliments so I assume you like them but I always have a really hard time writing because telling stories is very difficult in the written format which is why I became a nurse and not an author but I have so many stories to tell you and I don't get to see you all in person to tell them so I guess I have to write these posts even though I get nervous because something that was really hilarious or meaningful in real life might not come across through text and then you won't find it funny and won't read my blog anymore and I do get some satisfaction from seeing how many people read my blog and yes I meant this to be a run-on sentence because the grammar was too hard to figure out and if I was talking to you in person this would have all been said in one gigantic breath. Phew. Let's get down to business.

-After I took care of a patient 3 shifts in a row, I would go and see him during my shift even though he wasn't my patient. I would spend 10ish minutes in his room talking to him. After a few visits, as I would leave my patient would casually say, "Love you". This is still occurring every day I work.

-I had a fifteen minute conversation with a patient about Star Trek: our favorite series, characters, the remakes, etc. As I left the room, he held up the Vulcan salute (see below) and told me to Live Long and Prosper.
 

-Explaining a procedure to a patient's family member who had been giving the staff a hard time about it. It turns out, he was just confused about the purpose of the procedure. I had the time to print out some education and pictures. Afterwards, he wanted to procedure to be done and we were able to give the patient the best care available.

- Walking in on a patient crying and running in all concerned about her. Turns out, she was crying because she was so grateful for her husband who was beside her through all of her cancer ordeal. She proceeded to tell me her precious and lengthy love story.

-Learning something new every day- whether it's a skill I haven't done before, a new medication, a new type of cancer treatment, or how something works at the hospital.

-I was assigned to a patient for three days in a row. Each time I walked in, I put on my sweet, caring, cheerful face. In response, I received more harrumphs and grunts and hmmphs than I ever have in my life. By the end, I realized that the perkier I was, the grumpier he was. I wasn't going to stoop to his level, so I decided to be the perkiest little nurse he would ever deal with. I sure showed him!

-I started taking care of a patient who was bedbound, needing strong pain medication every two hours, and unable to eat anything. I worked with her each day for four days, and by the end, she was making 10 laps around the unit, eating a regular diet, and spreading her pain meds out more and more each time. She was able to leave in time to make it to her daughter's birthday party because of the progress she made in those four days.

-I am telling you now that I clean up 90% less poop than I did at my last job. However, I will never escape it completely. I walked into a room and there was a copious amount of  poop on the bed, on the patient, on the siderails, on the patient's hand, on the bedside table, and everywhere else he could reach. He looked at us and said, "I think I pooped a little."

-Greeting family members by name as they visit their loved ones day after day.

-A patient ended up staying much longer than originally anticipated. This patient had a G-tube (where they feed you through a tube directly into your stomach) because he couldn't eat the normal way. I told him that we should throw him a party to celebrate when he would be able to go home. I told him we could bring balloons/ pin the tail on the donkey/ other party activities that didn't require eating. He then remarked, "I'm pretty sure if you were to pour booze down my tube, it would have the same effect."

That's all I can think of at the moment. Thanks for reading!

-C-