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Oct. 26th, 2012 10:45 pmI had a good day today. Got up and went to work; I decided to take the car instead of the bus 'cause it was a crappy rainy kind of day. I don't mind the bus in the mornings, but after work I really hate having to wait for the bus. The bus stop is about a 4 block walk from the hospital, right outside a bar, and sometimes the area is a bit, well, rough. In the dark rainy evenings it's a bit of a drag. Anyway, drove to work instead, so stayed dry.
I took care of a young man who has been really very ill; today was his 75th day in ICU. He has come very close to death on more than one occasion, and is just a shadow of his former self right now. However he is improving and I think he's passed that critical point right now. His tracheostomy tube was removed a few days ago, and he can finally talk and communicate. We got along well, and he seems very motivated to get better. I tried to give him as much control over his day as possible, leaving it up to him as to when he had his wash, and his shave and whether he wanted his foot splints on now, or in half an hour, that kind of thing. When you are stuck in a hospital bed with no real say over when you get positioned and such, it must be so frustrating, especially if you also have no voice. Since it makes no difference to me when I give him his bath, etc. letting him decide really makes him feel better and more in control.
The high point of his day was dinner, when he got actual recognizable food for the first time! Chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy; he asked me if it was all pureed, and when I showed him his plate with the chicken breast, his face lit up like it was Christmas. I had to help him by cutting up the meat and feeding him, because he's still so weak, but he managed to eat a fair bit, and enjoyed it. When I went in to say goodnight to him before I left, he thanked me for my help and said he'd had a really good day. He's not had a lot of good days, so it made me happy to know today was one of them.
Days like today make working a pleasure.
Because I had my car, I was able to give one of my co-workers who lives near me a ride home, and ease my mild guilt over driving instead of taking transit.
;P
I took care of a young man who has been really very ill; today was his 75th day in ICU. He has come very close to death on more than one occasion, and is just a shadow of his former self right now. However he is improving and I think he's passed that critical point right now. His tracheostomy tube was removed a few days ago, and he can finally talk and communicate. We got along well, and he seems very motivated to get better. I tried to give him as much control over his day as possible, leaving it up to him as to when he had his wash, and his shave and whether he wanted his foot splints on now, or in half an hour, that kind of thing. When you are stuck in a hospital bed with no real say over when you get positioned and such, it must be so frustrating, especially if you also have no voice. Since it makes no difference to me when I give him his bath, etc. letting him decide really makes him feel better and more in control.
The high point of his day was dinner, when he got actual recognizable food for the first time! Chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy; he asked me if it was all pureed, and when I showed him his plate with the chicken breast, his face lit up like it was Christmas. I had to help him by cutting up the meat and feeding him, because he's still so weak, but he managed to eat a fair bit, and enjoyed it. When I went in to say goodnight to him before I left, he thanked me for my help and said he'd had a really good day. He's not had a lot of good days, so it made me happy to know today was one of them.
Days like today make working a pleasure.
Because I had my car, I was able to give one of my co-workers who lives near me a ride home, and ease my mild guilt over driving instead of taking transit.
;P
