Post by ruffles on May 5, 2020 10:07:26 GMT -5
I am recovering from shingles and let me tell you, the pain from that can be severe. It feels like I am an inside out pin cushion with a whole collection of razor sharp little knives trying to push their way out through the muscles underneath your skin. It pulses. SHORT STORY: It was Sunday. A Nurse Practitioner and EMT ended up at my house and suggested I use the ambulance to go to the hospital. We have a good hospital here. I didn't care if it was loaded with a deadly contagious disease. Off I went. .............. Shingles can be airborne contagious. They put me in an 'isolated' room. It contains its own air filtration system. That was my air. Everyone who came into 'my space' had to put on the yellow paper gown, a mask and gloves. Before they left my room, they had to remove the paper gown, mask and gloves which went into my waste basket. They said I was in the safest place in the hospital. Thank God for pain killers!! .......... I had a chance to talk with the nurses there and asked each one if they liked their job. Watching their faces as they talked with me was an experience in itself. Their whole face glowed with the most beautiful heartfelt joy as they told me they loved their job. Their eyes lit up and their smiles grew as their hearts shown through. There isn't anything else that they could possibly do that would bring them more fulfillment. They work 12 hour shifts with one shift on, 12 hours off,then 2 more 12 hour shifts and 3 days off. And, the one 12 hour day at home, they spend sleeping/exhausted recovering, to come back for their next shift at the hospital.
The purpose of my visit was pain management. I needed to ask for the med to learn the degree of need for it. During the second day there, I pushed the call button to ask for the nurse. There was no answer. In the mean time there seemed to be a lot of people going into the room next to mine. After quite a bit of time, my call was still unanswered. I was hurting a good deal. Finally, a woman opened my glass slider a bit to say that my nurse was helping someone else and would be with me as soon as she was able. Suddenly I realized what was going on. She was working with a Covid patient whose need was obviously much greater than mine. All I have is a pain that is, in and of itself, inconsequential. It caused no harm. It will go away. I will recover. I will go home. I will get my life back. God bless my nurse (and all nurses). God be with her. Thank God for my life.
Two and 1/2 hours later, she came to me directly from next door. I asked her what happened. This Covid patient came in to the hospital. She gave him everything she had but she had to 'send him on.' I asked if he was going to make it. Her face was grim. She ever so slightly shook her head barely whispering a 'No'. I asked her how she felt. "Drained" was her word for it. God bless this nurse who loves her job and gives every blessed fiber of her being to those within her care.
Our world is filled with hospitals and nurses now. (And all those who are part of our hospital care.)
God help us.
We need a vaccine.
PS: I am at home now, living on pain pills but it looks as though the pain is healing and will be gone very soon.
The purpose of my visit was pain management. I needed to ask for the med to learn the degree of need for it. During the second day there, I pushed the call button to ask for the nurse. There was no answer. In the mean time there seemed to be a lot of people going into the room next to mine. After quite a bit of time, my call was still unanswered. I was hurting a good deal. Finally, a woman opened my glass slider a bit to say that my nurse was helping someone else and would be with me as soon as she was able. Suddenly I realized what was going on. She was working with a Covid patient whose need was obviously much greater than mine. All I have is a pain that is, in and of itself, inconsequential. It caused no harm. It will go away. I will recover. I will go home. I will get my life back. God bless my nurse (and all nurses). God be with her. Thank God for my life.
Two and 1/2 hours later, she came to me directly from next door. I asked her what happened. This Covid patient came in to the hospital. She gave him everything she had but she had to 'send him on.' I asked if he was going to make it. Her face was grim. She ever so slightly shook her head barely whispering a 'No'. I asked her how she felt. "Drained" was her word for it. God bless this nurse who loves her job and gives every blessed fiber of her being to those within her care.
Our world is filled with hospitals and nurses now. (And all those who are part of our hospital care.)
God help us.
We need a vaccine.
PS: I am at home now, living on pain pills but it looks as though the pain is healing and will be gone very soon.