Report of 21 Sept 2015
Good afternoon from the Terre Haute library -
As I write this, a patient is with Hospice at the hospital. He is almost 85 years old, has a bleed in his brain and the family has elected Hospice instead of surgery. It is the right decision, as the bleed is large. This patient is also paralysed from the neck down, from an accident on a trampoline bought for his grandchildren 25 years ago. The family is coping, and it reminds me of a time when we united in taking care of our own patient in the ICU.
Critical illness often unites. There was, for us, an unspoken bond among all the relatives of the ICU patients. We rejoiced in others' successes and were thunderstruck when a patient passed away. There was a little boy who had been struck by a vehicle as he crossed the road at a religious event; he recovered nicely and walked out of the hospital, to everyone's great delight. The lady who was riding pillion as her brother took her on his scooter to see his apartment, did not survive the accident where she was thrown off; her husband brought their 2 young sons to see her when she was hospitalised and the boys cried non-stop. When she died, we were not present but came in later to see an empty bed, and asked the nurses; it was sad to hear the news.
Work has been good. I contracted food poisoning, an annual rite of passage in the U.S., last week. Those that would believe food poisoning is the exclusive purview of third world countries can now be educated otherwise. I hobbled around yesterday, drinking vats of Sprite - what a beverage - and was grateful the census of patients was not heavy.
Our sons are well and busy doing what they do. Scott works online and enjoys it. I spoke to my father this morning and that was lovely. He asked when I would be returning.
Unw -
R
As I write this, a patient is with Hospice at the hospital. He is almost 85 years old, has a bleed in his brain and the family has elected Hospice instead of surgery. It is the right decision, as the bleed is large. This patient is also paralysed from the neck down, from an accident on a trampoline bought for his grandchildren 25 years ago. The family is coping, and it reminds me of a time when we united in taking care of our own patient in the ICU.
Critical illness often unites. There was, for us, an unspoken bond among all the relatives of the ICU patients. We rejoiced in others' successes and were thunderstruck when a patient passed away. There was a little boy who had been struck by a vehicle as he crossed the road at a religious event; he recovered nicely and walked out of the hospital, to everyone's great delight. The lady who was riding pillion as her brother took her on his scooter to see his apartment, did not survive the accident where she was thrown off; her husband brought their 2 young sons to see her when she was hospitalised and the boys cried non-stop. When she died, we were not present but came in later to see an empty bed, and asked the nurses; it was sad to hear the news.
Work has been good. I contracted food poisoning, an annual rite of passage in the U.S., last week. Those that would believe food poisoning is the exclusive purview of third world countries can now be educated otherwise. I hobbled around yesterday, drinking vats of Sprite - what a beverage - and was grateful the census of patients was not heavy.
Our sons are well and busy doing what they do. Scott works online and enjoys it. I spoke to my father this morning and that was lovely. He asked when I would be returning.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
11:20 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home