I mentioned this in the email many of you received but I would like to talk about the nurses of the I.C.U. for a moment. This is my first time spending an extended amount of time in the hospital and of all the people who have helped me over the last few weeks the nurses have been the most incredible.
At my worst, in the days just after operation, I was incoherent, full of tubes, monitors, and drugs, barely understanding what was going on around me. Those were the days of just making it through, hoping there were no complications, and the nurses, bless them, just helped you get there. Their job was to help you along medically and make sure you were as comfortable as possible. In moments of coherence they would let you know how things were going, what was coming down the road, and would lend a sympathetic ear to my fears and concerns of the unknown.
And each morning they would strip you down, change your clothes and bedding, give you a sponge bath, and leave you clean and calm, showing you the tenderness usually reserved for a newborn. As I sat up sleepless each night I got excited as the sun began to rise because I knew, in an hour, a nurse, for 45 minutes, would do everything she could to wash and care for me and make me feel human at my most vulnerable.
As things got better, as I recovered and stabilized, the nurse changed into a confidante and friend. Talking for hours and giving me a sense that I was still the same person as the one before the operation. They would offer advice on legal issues, patient care, rehab, doctors. It was not a company line but rather considerate and measured advice. So just a simple thanks to the ICU nurses, to make the well-being of others your mission in life takes an amazing amount of humbleness and sacrifice, to them I will always be indebted.
No comments:
Post a Comment