I was an acute hemodialysis nurse for thirty years, caring for thousands of patients over that time. The most important thing I learned was listen to your patient. I’d cared for Miss Ann for many years, through numerous hospitalizations, surgeries, and procedures. Prior to this admission, she’d told her husband, “I don’t ever want any more surgery.”
Unfortunately, this time she was in ICU on a ventilator and couldn’t speak for herself. She appeared to be unaware of what the doctor was explaining to her, so he asked her husband for surgical consent. Sadly, her husband refused, citing Miss Ann’s intention not to have surgery again. Meanwhile, behind the two of them, Miss Ann was frantically waving her arms trying to get their attention. She wanted surgery.
Miss Ann got her surgery, recovered, and did well for quite a while after that.
nutsrok.wordpress.com 
That is just scary.
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I think Nurses should make a Million Dollars a day! Period. End of Story. Indispensible!
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Good nurses do love their patients.
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Goes to show how much we want to hang on to life.<3 ❤ ❤
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It seems impossible to know what we want for sure, until faced with the decision! I can just see from your picture that you were a great nurse!
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Thank you.
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I’ve had some wonderful nurses when I’ve been hospitalized. But my favorite was when my daughter was sick. She had been in the hospital for nearly a week, and I refused to go home. Of course, I also didn’t sleep much and it was beginning to show. One of the nurses came in, put my daughter in a wheelchair and took her to the playroom for an hour or so, making up some excuse about there being a celebrity there or something. But the real reason, I figured out later, was because the minute my child was out of sight (and I knew she was safe with the nursing staff), I climbed into her bed and zonked out. My kid and I both benefitted from that small kindness.
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Reblogged this on William Chasterson.
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Thank you.
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