Life in the ER
Hmmm....
I haven't blogged in awhile; I have the flu and I'm miserable, and what else is there to do at 2:14 am? Don't think anybody wants to chat with me.
Recently after (not much) soul-searching, I transferred from the ICU to the ED at a sister hospital a few miles down the road from the old one. I had worked ED in '99 and always liked it- I seem to function best when things are crazy and I'm the queen of multitasking- and the constant difference of patients, nights, etc., is great. I wasn't quite sure how this experience would be, but it's turning out to be even better than my last ED stint- so far- I'm loving it. I work with a great team (we're with the same group of people each night, which I think is a great idea) and they've been incredibly friendly, warm, and accepting of me. We're all the same kind of compassionate-but-crazy nurse that follows the MASH philosophy (Take care of the patients, and have fun whenever you can) I guess I've worked about twelve shifts so far and let's see if I can remember some of the highlights that give an idea of the diversity:
"Parrot Lady" whose 3 1/2 foot macaw became angry when she cuddled her chihuahua; and bit her wrist, very nearly severing her hand (now I know why I never liked big birds)
"Dilaudid Man" (this is a common variation on a very common theme) a 400 lb homeless guy who called EMS (i.e. the ambulance) from the homeless shelter he lives in to bring him in because, I quote, "My finger hurts." The finger had no apparent injury. He then stated that he needed "A lot of IV Dilaudid." (this is a super potency drug given to people with cancer, etc., it's stronger than morphine) or he was going to do something to somebody. This led to several of us coming up with a dance at the nurse's station and a song to the tune of "Doctor, Doctor, Give me the News...." (I'll spare you all the verses) and no, he didn't get his Dilaudid, and no, he didn't do anything except whine and fart a lot.
"Septic Baby" very tiny recentborn who was very very sick; had all nurses and the ERP in the room working on him; and baby's life was saved. Happy, happy! These are the mornings you go home smiling.
"Sudden Death Man" Middle aged healthy man wakes up his wife, states he doesn't feel right, and hits the floor. EMS codes him times a million with no response. It's the middle of the night and the wife is sitting in a conference room, all by herself. She has no children, and her mother and brother left for Florida yesterday (good timing, huh?) I sit in there with her while she cries and shakes. She puts her arms around me and sobs. I notice she is getting snot in my hair, and it doesn't matter. These are the mornings you go home crying.
I'm begging her to tell me someone, anyone I can call; I can't let her stay here alone (and although I'm not leaving her, I'll have to at some point) and she certainly can't drive home alone. She doesn't want to "bother" anyone in the middle of the night. Finally she says, she is close to her next door neighbors. I think of our next door neighbors we had in Missouri that were the kind of friends you could call at any hour, and tell her, "They want to know and be here, I promise you." She gives me their number and I call them; they are there within ten minutes. I call her mother in Florida. The lady can't talk because she's so upset, but I tell the mother I'll put the phone up to her ear. I can hear the mother saying, "I love you baby. Mama's coming home. I'll be there just as soon as I can. I love you honey. Mama's on her way." This lady, middle aged like me, actually manages a little smile. "Thank you." she whispers. Mama always makes it better.
While ER is sometimes (as above) about life and death; most of the time it's about meeting people. People who are stoic and downplay real injuries; people who carry on over nothing and are hostile and difficult to please. The young mother with her fourth pregnancy who tells you she gave the other three back to the dad because "she was tired of being a mother." The newlyweds in their seventies who are so cute you want to put them in a picture frame. He comes in with a gallbladder attack, and every time I come in the room, they're smooching over the siderail. I start teasing them that this is all going in his medical record. They giggle and say they've been married six weeks, and they're just so crazy about each other, it's cuter than any teenage love you can imagine. He says he was her Sunday School teacher and now he's "teaching her about other things" She blushes and playfully smacks at him.
19 year old college student, first year away from home. I've had several of these so far. This is a boy who feels somethin'gs wrong with his heart- it's racing, and he feels short of breath. Anxiety and panic attack turns out to be the problem. It's nice when these type come in at 4 am, because then you have time to sit and talk to them. We sit and talk about being away from home, his family, his younger siblings, etc. He feels better after about thirty minutes and as I'm leaving mumbles, "Thanks for talking to me." I go over and give him a hug. He says, "Awww, you're just like my mom, she's always hugging on me!" and gets a big smile.
I'm very thankful God has given me the opportunity to have a job like this; where in almost every case, there is something you can do to help or bless someone. There are those that you may see no response; but I believe in seeds- a kind word or gesture, which may go unacknowledged by the person who is angry or in pain - I believe always has some infinitesimally small effect that may grow into something greater. Some patients are just unlikable; because I believe nothing happens without a reason, I ask the Lord, What do you want me to do for this person? and then I follow it up with, And you had better give me some love and compassion for them because I don't have it. He always does. And that, I'd say, is the biggest miracle of all.
The other great thing about my new job is I'm getting to use my Spanish and interact with all the Latino patients. No one else in the dept speaks Spanish, so they're all mine, which is fine by me. They're also much more polite and patient than the gringos. The recently immigrated often have had very little basic health teaching, and the young moms so much want to care for their babies properly- they are so thankful for the things you can teach them and that you can explain to them in their own language what is going on with their child. One young mother took both my hands and kissed them after I explained to her about her child's ear infection and that he was going to be okay. She told me she was so frightened to come to the hospital, that people had told her no one would be kind to her because she was Latino and did not have "papers", and that they might take the baby away from her. When the child kept crying harder and harder and became more febrile, she decided that even if they took the baby away, she had to get him care so that he would not die. It hurts me so much to read these angry diatribes against "illegal immigrants" (who are always lumped into one dangerous personality) from people who have never actually known or spoken to anyone in that position. Hey, this is my blog, I can get on my soapbox! It makes no sense to them that because Dad can find no work in his small town in Guatemala and two of their children have died from pneumonia due to contaminated water and no money for a doctor or medicine- that he is willing to actually WALK through Guatemala and Mexico and risk his life to get into this country and find a job. These people for the great majority, just want to WORK- and they don't work to spend it on themselves as we Americans like to do- they work to send 80% of their paychecks to their families back home. They don't want to cause trouble, and they're terrified of the police and any authority figures. How people can call themselves "Christians" and then preach that these immigrants need to be rounded up and booted out, is beyond me. How much more unlike Jesus can you be than to have no compassion on people in need?? Obviously if they are here illegally running drugs, they need to get booted out. But that is the unusual case, and not the typical one.
Well that's my latest update. I'm reminding myself of how I love my new job because I'm not happy that it's interfering with my Thanksgiving plans and with family coming to visit.
oh, this stupid flu. I have got to go lie down and that is sooooo boring. I guess I picked up a virus from working in a new place (as generally happens)
Well after Thanksgiving I can play my holiday music; my gang all likes holiday music, so we're really happy we can crank it up at the nurse's station.
I wish I could tell my mom about my new job and some of my stories. She was always my best "story listener" and the most interested. Hmm...maybe there's internet connection in heaven and she can keep up with my blog. Why not?
I haven't blogged in awhile; I have the flu and I'm miserable, and what else is there to do at 2:14 am? Don't think anybody wants to chat with me.
Recently after (not much) soul-searching, I transferred from the ICU to the ED at a sister hospital a few miles down the road from the old one. I had worked ED in '99 and always liked it- I seem to function best when things are crazy and I'm the queen of multitasking- and the constant difference of patients, nights, etc., is great. I wasn't quite sure how this experience would be, but it's turning out to be even better than my last ED stint- so far- I'm loving it. I work with a great team (we're with the same group of people each night, which I think is a great idea) and they've been incredibly friendly, warm, and accepting of me. We're all the same kind of compassionate-but-crazy nurse that follows the MASH philosophy (Take care of the patients, and have fun whenever you can) I guess I've worked about twelve shifts so far and let's see if I can remember some of the highlights that give an idea of the diversity:
"Parrot Lady" whose 3 1/2 foot macaw became angry when she cuddled her chihuahua; and bit her wrist, very nearly severing her hand (now I know why I never liked big birds)
"Dilaudid Man" (this is a common variation on a very common theme) a 400 lb homeless guy who called EMS (i.e. the ambulance) from the homeless shelter he lives in to bring him in because, I quote, "My finger hurts." The finger had no apparent injury. He then stated that he needed "A lot of IV Dilaudid." (this is a super potency drug given to people with cancer, etc., it's stronger than morphine) or he was going to do something to somebody. This led to several of us coming up with a dance at the nurse's station and a song to the tune of "Doctor, Doctor, Give me the News...." (I'll spare you all the verses) and no, he didn't get his Dilaudid, and no, he didn't do anything except whine and fart a lot.
"Septic Baby" very tiny recentborn who was very very sick; had all nurses and the ERP in the room working on him; and baby's life was saved. Happy, happy! These are the mornings you go home smiling.
"Sudden Death Man" Middle aged healthy man wakes up his wife, states he doesn't feel right, and hits the floor. EMS codes him times a million with no response. It's the middle of the night and the wife is sitting in a conference room, all by herself. She has no children, and her mother and brother left for Florida yesterday (good timing, huh?) I sit in there with her while she cries and shakes. She puts her arms around me and sobs. I notice she is getting snot in my hair, and it doesn't matter. These are the mornings you go home crying.
I'm begging her to tell me someone, anyone I can call; I can't let her stay here alone (and although I'm not leaving her, I'll have to at some point) and she certainly can't drive home alone. She doesn't want to "bother" anyone in the middle of the night. Finally she says, she is close to her next door neighbors. I think of our next door neighbors we had in Missouri that were the kind of friends you could call at any hour, and tell her, "They want to know and be here, I promise you." She gives me their number and I call them; they are there within ten minutes. I call her mother in Florida. The lady can't talk because she's so upset, but I tell the mother I'll put the phone up to her ear. I can hear the mother saying, "I love you baby. Mama's coming home. I'll be there just as soon as I can. I love you honey. Mama's on her way." This lady, middle aged like me, actually manages a little smile. "Thank you." she whispers. Mama always makes it better.
While ER is sometimes (as above) about life and death; most of the time it's about meeting people. People who are stoic and downplay real injuries; people who carry on over nothing and are hostile and difficult to please. The young mother with her fourth pregnancy who tells you she gave the other three back to the dad because "she was tired of being a mother." The newlyweds in their seventies who are so cute you want to put them in a picture frame. He comes in with a gallbladder attack, and every time I come in the room, they're smooching over the siderail. I start teasing them that this is all going in his medical record. They giggle and say they've been married six weeks, and they're just so crazy about each other, it's cuter than any teenage love you can imagine. He says he was her Sunday School teacher and now he's "teaching her about other things" She blushes and playfully smacks at him.
19 year old college student, first year away from home. I've had several of these so far. This is a boy who feels somethin'gs wrong with his heart- it's racing, and he feels short of breath. Anxiety and panic attack turns out to be the problem. It's nice when these type come in at 4 am, because then you have time to sit and talk to them. We sit and talk about being away from home, his family, his younger siblings, etc. He feels better after about thirty minutes and as I'm leaving mumbles, "Thanks for talking to me." I go over and give him a hug. He says, "Awww, you're just like my mom, she's always hugging on me!" and gets a big smile.
I'm very thankful God has given me the opportunity to have a job like this; where in almost every case, there is something you can do to help or bless someone. There are those that you may see no response; but I believe in seeds- a kind word or gesture, which may go unacknowledged by the person who is angry or in pain - I believe always has some infinitesimally small effect that may grow into something greater. Some patients are just unlikable; because I believe nothing happens without a reason, I ask the Lord, What do you want me to do for this person? and then I follow it up with, And you had better give me some love and compassion for them because I don't have it. He always does. And that, I'd say, is the biggest miracle of all.
The other great thing about my new job is I'm getting to use my Spanish and interact with all the Latino patients. No one else in the dept speaks Spanish, so they're all mine, which is fine by me. They're also much more polite and patient than the gringos. The recently immigrated often have had very little basic health teaching, and the young moms so much want to care for their babies properly- they are so thankful for the things you can teach them and that you can explain to them in their own language what is going on with their child. One young mother took both my hands and kissed them after I explained to her about her child's ear infection and that he was going to be okay. She told me she was so frightened to come to the hospital, that people had told her no one would be kind to her because she was Latino and did not have "papers", and that they might take the baby away from her. When the child kept crying harder and harder and became more febrile, she decided that even if they took the baby away, she had to get him care so that he would not die. It hurts me so much to read these angry diatribes against "illegal immigrants" (who are always lumped into one dangerous personality) from people who have never actually known or spoken to anyone in that position. Hey, this is my blog, I can get on my soapbox! It makes no sense to them that because Dad can find no work in his small town in Guatemala and two of their children have died from pneumonia due to contaminated water and no money for a doctor or medicine- that he is willing to actually WALK through Guatemala and Mexico and risk his life to get into this country and find a job. These people for the great majority, just want to WORK- and they don't work to spend it on themselves as we Americans like to do- they work to send 80% of their paychecks to their families back home. They don't want to cause trouble, and they're terrified of the police and any authority figures. How people can call themselves "Christians" and then preach that these immigrants need to be rounded up and booted out, is beyond me. How much more unlike Jesus can you be than to have no compassion on people in need?? Obviously if they are here illegally running drugs, they need to get booted out. But that is the unusual case, and not the typical one.
Well that's my latest update. I'm reminding myself of how I love my new job because I'm not happy that it's interfering with my Thanksgiving plans and with family coming to visit.
oh, this stupid flu. I have got to go lie down and that is sooooo boring. I guess I picked up a virus from working in a new place (as generally happens)
Well after Thanksgiving I can play my holiday music; my gang all likes holiday music, so we're really happy we can crank it up at the nurse's station.
I wish I could tell my mom about my new job and some of my stories. She was always my best "story listener" and the most interested. Hmm...maybe there's internet connection in heaven and she can keep up with my blog. Why not?
posted by cherigrace | 11:58 PM
1 Comments:
I just found your blog and it's fascinating.
Just one criticism. It would be easier for me to read if you put an extra line between paragraphs.
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