Working on an orthopedic trauma unit can be quite interesting. Of course there are the total hip and knee replacements that seem to plague such a floor, however, some of the other reasons patients find themselves there cause one to examine life a little deeper.
Last week I helped care for someone who has been diagnosed with cancer in her twenties. Unfortunately, this diagnosis has left her with a complete amputation of her leg, half of her pelvis missing, and completely dependent on those around her for help. Among all of these horrific circumstances she is wondering how she is going to mother her two children under the age of three. Amazingly, this woman still offers a sweet 'thank you' each time a doctor or nurse leaves the room.
What kind of words can you offer someone whose life has taken a dramatic turn in just a few weeks?
Or how about the man who no longer has a sacrum because of the disease that has ravaged his body? Not long ago he was running around with his children, coaching sports teams and enjoying life. Now he is flat on his back with a feeding tube, catheter, colostomy, numerous IVs running, and all of his privacy and independence gone. Every morning his wife without fail welcomes us with a smile as she sits by his side.
I don't think one can ever know what to say to someone experiencing such immense pain. There are no magic words that a textbook teaches or simplistic formulas to follow as a nurse. I still don't know how to react in these circumstances. The one thing I have learned in the short time I've been here is that as bleak as it seems to these patients and their families, when I greet them by name, offer a small smile, or simply put my hand on their shoulder, often times they smile back.
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4 comments:
I think there is special grace available for those going through the tragedies like you describe. Not to downplay their difficulties but sometimes those of us on the outside are more horrified than those we watch. We are not privy to God's peace that undergirds such individual because we are not the ones needing it at that moment.
God can and does use us however to be a part of that peace and that is why our smile, touch, words, and caring attitude can make such a difference? Lin
Gitta
i have another blog from a nursing student you might like.
www.stethoscopesanddiapers.blogspot.com.
I think if you left a comment the two of you might enjoy comparing notes? Lin
Gitta, what a comfort for those families to have you serving them! No wonder they smile.
I can't wait to see all your pictures of the countryside when you get back!
Oh, what a sweet, sweet sprit you must have. Not pity, but a caress, a smile, a word, so sweet.
You will do well in your profession.
Nothing but admiration for you.
Betty G
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