Gratitude for Little Trinkets with Little Stories
Today I made my Christmas list out. I don’t have a lot of money to spend, so I thought I would give away things of mine that mean something to me and have a little story behind them for special friends and family. I have […]
Holistic Nursing and the Surgical Patient
A category 2 abdominal pain patient was brought into room 5 from the waiting room of my ER. She was an early 20-something who happened to be 17 weeks pregnant. She was complaining of diffuse belly pain, fever and nausea that had escalated over 48 […]
The Cancer Scare
I was scared of anything medical, even way before the stroke. I waited eleven years to get a sinus operation, ten years to get a colonoscopy, and eight years to get hearing aids. Then I broke my shoulder in December, but my upper arm was […]
Boredom
Here’s where I am now: I’m tired of waiting to feel better, so I’m doing things anyway. I’m exercising anyway. I’m eating anyway. I’m washing the dishes anyway. Dr. Asch seems to imply that I will and should be feeling better soon, that there is […]
I Can’t Remember
I can’t remember my Social Security number, my daughter’s birth date, how old my grandchildren are, what I had for supper last night, what I watched on TV this morning or what you call those round green things that are red inside and some have […]
Past and Present Reunite
I could hear her crying and screaming in pain as I entered the ER for my evening shift. The door to her room was closed but the bone-chilling cries echoed out beneath the wooden door and filled the airspace of the nursing station. I inquired […]
If You Squeeze Them One More Time, I May Hurt You.
Men basically have two things to worry about: erectile dysfunction and the prospect of prostrate cancer. Big deal. But most men don’t know what it takes to be a woman because they’ve never walked our mile. Permit me to elaborate: wearing a clumsy pad or […]
The Mind/Body/Spirit Connection
I went to room 13 to check on the patient I had just received report on… the ER was CRAZY but for some reason I felt the need to check on him first. Late teens, sick for 3 weeks with diarrhea, waiting on a stool […]
A Shower
Editor’s note: If you are following along with Barbara and Melissa in their journey, this post is from writing done a couple of months ago with both Barbara and her daughter and caregiver Melissa recounting the impact that small things done with great love can […]