Today while at work, I had the opportunity to intercede in a situation with a patient. This is one of those moments that I was where I needed to be, when I needed to be there...
A patient came in and was a difficult IV start. A very experienced and exceptional nurse was having some difficulty getting an IV started on a patient. The patient needed it, in order for their procedure. The patient was distraught, sobbing, almost to the point of cancelling her procedure, as she had been "stuck" several times and was in pain.
As I walked by, I was asked if I could take a look and try to get an IV. As the patient was sobbing, I sat down next to the patient, dabbed her tears with a tissue, and just started talking to her. I took her hand into mine and placed my other hand on her arm. We talked, I reassured her that everything was going to be OK, and that we would be able to help her. As she began to calm down, she noticed one of my tattoos (yes, I have two... one on each arm...), and asked me why I had "that" tattoo on my arm. The tattoo she was loo
king at and referring to was the one on my left arm. It is the ICTHUS. I asked her a question in response to her question, "Why do you think I would have "that" tattoo on my arm?" She responded, "Because you are a believer!" And I replied, "Yes, I am."
We connected on an even deeper level almost instantly. I could see an immediate relaxation and sense of calm come over her. We talked about a lot of things, our shared faith, her recent loss of her husband, her life as an artist, her experience as a member of the Coast Guard, her current living situation. She did most of the talking, I did most of the listening. You see, this is what my patient needed the most at that particular time! She needed someone who had a common interest, who was willing to take the time to just sit and listen, to connect, to care, to be a friend, a person, a fellow human being.
Now I will admit, I was a bit stealthy as I held her hand and was patting her upper arm... you see, as I was patting her upper arm as a distraction, I was looking at her hand and forearm - even turning it to and fro, looking for a vein to start an IV in. I kept right on listening and talking to her as I slipped the tourniquet around her arm and swabbed at a vein in her hand with the alcohol prep. I replied to her question and told her she would feel a bit of discomfort in her hand as I injected a bit of lidocaine to help numb the skin. She kept right on talking as if nothing happened.
To make a long story short, I got her IV started. She was almost amazed that I had been able to accomplish the task without any effort, or pain on her part! We sat there and talked for another 10 minutes before she went off to have her procedure.
Most would say this is a minor occurrence, a trivial thing in the day of a nurse. I would have to agree with them for the most part. But, (which is really an abbreviation for "Behold the Underlying Truth!") this was a major thing in the day of my patient! I would argue that this is a major thing in anyone's day!
How often would a complete stranger, walk up to you, come into and take an interest in your situation, spend over 15 or 20 minutes with you, completely engaged, only concerned for your welfare, disregarding everything else that they were doing or needed to do, because you need them to be right there, right then, for that reason?
If you have experienced this, consider yourself lucky! I would love for you to leave me a comment with your story!
So that was my day! Of course there was a lot of other things that happened... however, this event is what will define my day in my memory! For that I am grateful!
A patient came in and was a difficult IV start. A very experienced and exceptional nurse was having some difficulty getting an IV started on a patient. The patient needed it, in order for their procedure. The patient was distraught, sobbing, almost to the point of cancelling her procedure, as she had been "stuck" several times and was in pain.
As I walked by, I was asked if I could take a look and try to get an IV. As the patient was sobbing, I sat down next to the patient, dabbed her tears with a tissue, and just started talking to her. I took her hand into mine and placed my other hand on her arm. We talked, I reassured her that everything was going to be OK, and that we would be able to help her. As she began to calm down, she noticed one of my tattoos (yes, I have two... one on each arm...), and asked me why I had "that" tattoo on my arm. The tattoo she was loo
king at and referring to was the one on my left arm. It is the ICTHUS. I asked her a question in response to her question, "Why do you think I would have "that" tattoo on my arm?" She responded, "Because you are a believer!" And I replied, "Yes, I am."We connected on an even deeper level almost instantly. I could see an immediate relaxation and sense of calm come over her. We talked about a lot of things, our shared faith, her recent loss of her husband, her life as an artist, her experience as a member of the Coast Guard, her current living situation. She did most of the talking, I did most of the listening. You see, this is what my patient needed the most at that particular time! She needed someone who had a common interest, who was willing to take the time to just sit and listen, to connect, to care, to be a friend, a person, a fellow human being.
Now I will admit, I was a bit stealthy as I held her hand and was patting her upper arm... you see, as I was patting her upper arm as a distraction, I was looking at her hand and forearm - even turning it to and fro, looking for a vein to start an IV in. I kept right on listening and talking to her as I slipped the tourniquet around her arm and swabbed at a vein in her hand with the alcohol prep. I replied to her question and told her she would feel a bit of discomfort in her hand as I injected a bit of lidocaine to help numb the skin. She kept right on talking as if nothing happened.
To make a long story short, I got her IV started. She was almost amazed that I had been able to accomplish the task without any effort, or pain on her part! We sat there and talked for another 10 minutes before she went off to have her procedure.
Most would say this is a minor occurrence, a trivial thing in the day of a nurse. I would have to agree with them for the most part. But, (which is really an abbreviation for "Behold the Underlying Truth!") this was a major thing in the day of my patient! I would argue that this is a major thing in anyone's day!
How often would a complete stranger, walk up to you, come into and take an interest in your situation, spend over 15 or 20 minutes with you, completely engaged, only concerned for your welfare, disregarding everything else that they were doing or needed to do, because you need them to be right there, right then, for that reason?
If you have experienced this, consider yourself lucky! I would love for you to leave me a comment with your story!
So that was my day! Of course there was a lot of other things that happened... however, this event is what will define my day in my memory! For that I am grateful!
1 comment:
This story gives me God-bumps every time I read it.
So glad you shared it.
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