It’s halfway through my final semester, and at this point I find myself simply going through the motions of studying for exams….filling out clinical paperwork…attending lectures…etc. Especially with clinicals, most days I look forward to leaving the hospital even before I walk out of the apartment in the morning. I’m so ready to be finished; to be a nurse; to be taking care of my own patients!
Monday was a little bit different for me. It was my last day of taking care of multiple patients before I graduate, and I decided to be PRESENT (which I should do all along) with my patients instead of going through the motions. I was so blessed and was reminded of WHY I love nursing.
About 10 AM, one of my patients turned on her call light. As I walked closer to her room, I heard crying. I found my patient in the bathroom leaning over the trashcan crying because she was extremely nauseated and due to an incision, it was very painful to throw up. I looked at her orders and she didn’t have any medications I could give her for her pain or for her nausea. That’s when you get on the phone and call the doc…the problem was, the doc wasn’t answering his phone!
So here I am with a fresh, post-op kidney transplant patient in excruciating pain with no meds I can give her. What do you do?!? I decided it was time to put my “agenda” (also read as waiting at the nurses station until lunch at 11 AM) aside and be PRESENT with her. I finished checking on the rest of my patients right before this happened, they were all okay, and so I knew I had some time to spend one-on-one with her. I wasn’t really sure how to help her, though.
So for about 30 minutes, I sat with her in the bathroom and did my best to help make her comfortable (if that’s possible). I held her hair while she vomited and wiped her tears….it’s all I really knew to do. The initial bout of nausea passed and she wanted to go back to her bed. So we did. We got her situated in bed, and soon after, round two began…I’m pretty sure it was worse than round one! I wanted to cry for her knowing how much pain she was in. So I did the same thing over again…sat with her…held her hair…wiped her tears…but this time she couldn’t make it to a trashcan and got vomit all over her gown and linens. She was embarrassed, and I continued to reassure her that she was not a burden as we cleaned her up.
After round two of nausea ended, I sat on the end of her bed and talked with her. I learned about her family and how she had one daughter who is 20 years old. My patient has been sick since her daughter was 6 years old. Through my patient’s tears, I listened as she told me how hard it was for her to tell her only daughter to go, live her life, and see the world knowing she (my patient) was very sick. I learned about her new little puppies, and how her employer is making provisions for her to be away during her recovery. I learned that my patient’s face lights up when someone comes to visit or bring her flowers. I learned the books she likes to read and how much she loves for her hair to be nice and clean.
I thought about this throughout the rest of my clinical day, and the passage of scripture in Matthew 25 continually came to mind.
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”
The Lord reminded me that it’s not always about the big things we do as nurses…it’s about being PRESENT and caring for and loving people. It’s about meeting daily needs….it’s about cleaning up vomit…it’s about giving them fresh water…it’s about taking time to listen to their concerns. I can easily go through my day checking things off of my list, but what if, in doing that, I miss HIM? What if, in doing that, I miss an opportunity to show someone Christ’s love? Is it worth it? No, it’s not. I came in to nursing to make a difference in the lives of each patient and their families that I encounter, and some days, making a difference might mean cleaning up vomit and sitting at their bedside.
Lord, may I never lose sight of the importance of meeting basic needs and loving people as You love them!
1 comment:
Katie, this is such a beautiful story. You took time to notice her and minister to her in such a loving way. Thanks for sharing this! Miss you, friend!
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