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.