A Nursing story

The last couple of weeks I've worked a lot...52 hours each week to be exact. I have so many interesting cases and experiences, but every once in a while one really stands out, so I wanted to share...

One of the patients I took care of the other night was a man about 55 years old. He had long beard and thinning hair that was fairly long--making him look older than his 55 years. The most striking thing though was that he was terribly jaundiced. A long history of alcoholism had damaged his liver and he was in the final stages of liver disease. His feet and ankles were very edematous and he had difficulty even shifting positions in bed.

His mother sat with him for most of the evening and then left when visiting hours were over. He rarely called for anything and didn't say much to anyone.

On one of my rounds to him, I asked if he'd like to try getting up to the bathroom. He nodded, so I called the nurse to help as he was a rather large man.

With great effort on his part, he managed to inch his legs to the side of the bed and come to a sitting position. We brought out the bedside commode and placed it a few inches away from the bed. Then we brought his walker around and placed it in front him. He put his hand on the handles, we hooked our elbows under his arms and supported him while he shakily stood. He shuffled his swollen feet the few inches needed to get to the commode and sat down.

We finished taking care of him and got him back to bed in the same painstaking way we'd gotten him up. As we tucked him into bed he said softly, " You ladies are angels."

It made my heart smile:)