Where is that friend that I can talk to
When times are getting tough?
That friend I can truly count on
When everything seems rough
A friend who's understanding
And wants to help me through
When my poor heart is breaking,
That dear friend is you!
Oh where can I run to find that peace inside?
It's to that friend that's always there
In whom I can confide.
Where do I go when I feel I do not have a friend
And I need some one who's kindness they can lend?
There is no need to look too fare
For a friend so kind and true,
Because I've found a special friend
And that dear friend Is you!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A Touching Story
Hello Everyone. I recently Read this story on a sight for nurses. It really touched my life and I believe you will enjoy it as much as I did. Though I am not a nurse yet, I hope to be one some day and really help people in need. Also be a patient and kind nurse, Who this nurse in the story, if she was not before, learned how to be.
The Passing of "Mrs. Jones" and How She Changed My Life
In our facility, "Mrs. Jones" (not her real name of course) was what we called a "needy" resident. She was completely bed bound and constantly in need of something. We used to joke that her call light would one day catch fire from constant use. Usually her needs were very simple. In a 10 minute period, she would go from hot to cold and back to hot again, requiring multiple trips to her room to adjust the a/c or add/subtract blankets, etc. To add to the fact that her call bell was so consistent that it was the cadence to which we all set our pace, if it was not answered within the first 10 seconds of its activation, she would begin calling random names of nurses and aids that may or may not be on duty at the time.
Yes, Mrs. Jones was a handful and I am ashamed now to say that I dreaded dealing with her on a daily basis. I had a million other things to do and 25 other patients who needed my attention! Didn't she understand???
Mrs. Jones was a Hospice patient for what seemed like forever. She frequently called the name of the Hospice nurse too. Mrs. Jones was alert and oriented and just seemed to need an unusual amount of attention which I was really hard pressed to provide and I was resentful of that.
I came to work one early fall day to find that Mrs. Jones, who had been her usual self the day before had taken a turn for the worse. She was hallucinating, and her general condition had greatly deteriorated. She was still, however, aware of her call light!
I tended to her all evening and into the night. I turned and changed her many time myself because the aids were busy with others and she needed such freequent attention. This also gave me the opportunity to keep up with her condition.
At one point around 1 AM, I walked into her room and heard her talking in a sweet, grandmotherly voice that was unfamiliar to me to... well, no one that I could see. She was saying, "Don't go near that bush now. There are wasps in there." I asked, "Mrs. Jones, who are you talking to?" "Why, these children, of course. I don't want them to get stung. You stay away from it too." "OK." I agreed and started to leave the room. "Have you seen my daughter?", she asked me. In fact her daughter hadn't been in to see her mom for months. I have no idea what had happened but the instruction in her chart stated that her daughter should only be called upon Mrs. Jones death. I told her that I had not.
She then made the statement that changed my life. "I wanted her here because I am going to die tonight and I don't want to be alone.", she said.
At first, I thought this was a melodramatic way of demanding yet MORE attention. As I turned to leave the room, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I needed to stay.
I went to the nurses station and gathered some paper work, well aware that I had plenty to do. I told the aids where I would be and carried my paperwork into Mrs. Jones room pushing a bedside table on which to work.
"I'll be here with you, Mrs. Jones.", I told her. She smiled.
She wanted to tell me about her family and her problems with her daughter and needless to say, not much paperwork got done. I realized through her stories that she needed attention because she really didn't have anyone but the staff of the nursing home. She talked for two solid hours as I listened and held her hand.
When she had covered all the information she wanted me to know about her personally, she said, "You know I love you, Stacey." She had never called me by name before always referring to me as "nurse". With a new and heartfelt understanding of Mrs. Jones "neediness" and tears now welling in my eyes I said, "I love you too, Mrs. Jones." And I meant it.
Shortly after this exchange, her breathing became labored and eventually stopped. I was held her hand as she passed peacefully. I called the supervisor and Hospice and her daughter. The aids came in prepared to handle the routine post mortem care. I asked them to let me do it. I washed Mrs. Jones, changed her gown and her bed and brushed her beautiful white hair.
Mrs. Jones was gone and I realized that I had too long been annoyed by her constant need for attention and never took the time to find out the reason for it. She was a lonely little lady who really looked at the staff who was "bothered" by her as her family. Shame on all of us.
I gained a new perspective on my chosen career. I am a nurse to serve my patients/residents in more ways than I knew. I thank Mrs. Jones every day for teaching me that.
I was very late getting out of work that morning but it was OK. It was my honor to see that Mrs. Jones didn't have to be alone on her journey. Now I remember why I became a nurse. Mrs. Jones changed my life...and in an indirect way, the lives of every patient for whom I have cared since.
The Passing of "Mrs. Jones" and How She Changed My Life
In our facility, "Mrs. Jones" (not her real name of course) was what we called a "needy" resident. She was completely bed bound and constantly in need of something. We used to joke that her call light would one day catch fire from constant use. Usually her needs were very simple. In a 10 minute period, she would go from hot to cold and back to hot again, requiring multiple trips to her room to adjust the a/c or add/subtract blankets, etc. To add to the fact that her call bell was so consistent that it was the cadence to which we all set our pace, if it was not answered within the first 10 seconds of its activation, she would begin calling random names of nurses and aids that may or may not be on duty at the time.
Yes, Mrs. Jones was a handful and I am ashamed now to say that I dreaded dealing with her on a daily basis. I had a million other things to do and 25 other patients who needed my attention! Didn't she understand???
Mrs. Jones was a Hospice patient for what seemed like forever. She frequently called the name of the Hospice nurse too. Mrs. Jones was alert and oriented and just seemed to need an unusual amount of attention which I was really hard pressed to provide and I was resentful of that.
I came to work one early fall day to find that Mrs. Jones, who had been her usual self the day before had taken a turn for the worse. She was hallucinating, and her general condition had greatly deteriorated. She was still, however, aware of her call light!
I tended to her all evening and into the night. I turned and changed her many time myself because the aids were busy with others and she needed such freequent attention. This also gave me the opportunity to keep up with her condition.
At one point around 1 AM, I walked into her room and heard her talking in a sweet, grandmotherly voice that was unfamiliar to me to... well, no one that I could see. She was saying, "Don't go near that bush now. There are wasps in there." I asked, "Mrs. Jones, who are you talking to?" "Why, these children, of course. I don't want them to get stung. You stay away from it too." "OK." I agreed and started to leave the room. "Have you seen my daughter?", she asked me. In fact her daughter hadn't been in to see her mom for months. I have no idea what had happened but the instruction in her chart stated that her daughter should only be called upon Mrs. Jones death. I told her that I had not.
She then made the statement that changed my life. "I wanted her here because I am going to die tonight and I don't want to be alone.", she said.
At first, I thought this was a melodramatic way of demanding yet MORE attention. As I turned to leave the room, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I needed to stay.
I went to the nurses station and gathered some paper work, well aware that I had plenty to do. I told the aids where I would be and carried my paperwork into Mrs. Jones room pushing a bedside table on which to work.
"I'll be here with you, Mrs. Jones.", I told her. She smiled.
She wanted to tell me about her family and her problems with her daughter and needless to say, not much paperwork got done. I realized through her stories that she needed attention because she really didn't have anyone but the staff of the nursing home. She talked for two solid hours as I listened and held her hand.
When she had covered all the information she wanted me to know about her personally, she said, "You know I love you, Stacey." She had never called me by name before always referring to me as "nurse". With a new and heartfelt understanding of Mrs. Jones "neediness" and tears now welling in my eyes I said, "I love you too, Mrs. Jones." And I meant it.
Shortly after this exchange, her breathing became labored and eventually stopped. I was held her hand as she passed peacefully. I called the supervisor and Hospice and her daughter. The aids came in prepared to handle the routine post mortem care. I asked them to let me do it. I washed Mrs. Jones, changed her gown and her bed and brushed her beautiful white hair.
Mrs. Jones was gone and I realized that I had too long been annoyed by her constant need for attention and never took the time to find out the reason for it. She was a lonely little lady who really looked at the staff who was "bothered" by her as her family. Shame on all of us.
I gained a new perspective on my chosen career. I am a nurse to serve my patients/residents in more ways than I knew. I thank Mrs. Jones every day for teaching me that.
I was very late getting out of work that morning but it was OK. It was my honor to see that Mrs. Jones didn't have to be alone on her journey. Now I remember why I became a nurse. Mrs. Jones changed my life...and in an indirect way, the lives of every patient for whom I have cared since.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Where is the Justice?
I sit here pondering over the past few years
Those times we were together
And I feel a love burn deep within
Just thinking of back then.
I wondering how you are today,
And think of times long past.
It Makes me want to take your hand
And again look in those eyes.
Those eyes that show a soul within
that has always stood for right.
No matter who has persecuted you
You never turned from good.
Oh How I miss your kind voice
And The loving words you said.
You were so understanding and
Tried so hard to help us.
Now today your In a dungeon
With no one who cares.
Your still So Sweet and you carry on
still trying to encourage us.
How can some one stand
For what is right
And be taken from their loved ones,
Placed in a jail cell for doing nothing Wrong?
Where is the justice?
Oh Heaven, Please deliver Him!
Bring Him forth and Build Him up
And Comfort Him, I pray.
Those times we were together
And I feel a love burn deep within
Just thinking of back then.
I wondering how you are today,
And think of times long past.
It Makes me want to take your hand
And again look in those eyes.
Those eyes that show a soul within
that has always stood for right.
No matter who has persecuted you
You never turned from good.
Oh How I miss your kind voice
And The loving words you said.
You were so understanding and
Tried so hard to help us.
Now today your In a dungeon
With no one who cares.
Your still So Sweet and you carry on
still trying to encourage us.
How can some one stand
For what is right
And be taken from their loved ones,
Placed in a jail cell for doing nothing Wrong?
Where is the justice?
Oh Heaven, Please deliver Him!
Bring Him forth and Build Him up
And Comfort Him, I pray.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Weekly Update
Hello everyone,
I'm sorry about not posting more lately. These days have been very hecktic, I feel like I am a chicken running around with it's head cut off, gruesome but true!
There is always things that strike me as funny when i'm this busy, it's when people come up to me and ask me to write them a poem, or do something for them... and they say "No Rush just do it when you get the time."
I laugh so hard, Then I look at them and say "IF I waited until I had time to do it, it would never get done, so remind me tomorrow and I will see if I can TAKE the time to do it for you."
I have learned a thing or two in life and one of them is, you will never have enough time to do all you wanted to do, you just have to MAKE time to do the things that are most important to you.
I will be posting a few more poems pretty soon, I haven't been writing much but I do have a few I have written that aren't TOO personal I think everyone would like LOL. NOT that my poems are really personal, but they are mostly for certain people and certain feelings and stuff like that.
Anyway, I hope you are looking forward to the next few poems. Thanks everyone!
~Elaxi
I'm sorry about not posting more lately. These days have been very hecktic, I feel like I am a chicken running around with it's head cut off, gruesome but true!
There is always things that strike me as funny when i'm this busy, it's when people come up to me and ask me to write them a poem, or do something for them... and they say "No Rush just do it when you get the time."
I laugh so hard, Then I look at them and say "IF I waited until I had time to do it, it would never get done, so remind me tomorrow and I will see if I can TAKE the time to do it for you."
I have learned a thing or two in life and one of them is, you will never have enough time to do all you wanted to do, you just have to MAKE time to do the things that are most important to you.
I will be posting a few more poems pretty soon, I haven't been writing much but I do have a few I have written that aren't TOO personal I think everyone would like LOL. NOT that my poems are really personal, but they are mostly for certain people and certain feelings and stuff like that.
Anyway, I hope you are looking forward to the next few poems. Thanks everyone!
~Elaxi
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