"Mommy, mommy, don't leave me!"

Anesthesia is a complex event for humans.  There are four major levels of anesthesia, the second being a stage where excitation and agitation occur, sometimes for prolonged periods.  Patients become impulsive, pulling at lines, cords and tubes.  They can be combative, striking out and swearing.  (Refer to the blog about rodeo nursing).  

Today, a 44 year old woman spent several hours squeezing my hand painfully, crying out, 'Mommy, don't leave me!'.  She was in obvious pain, and obvious psychological distress.  Her coping skills were maxed out.  Fortunately, she had a nurse (me) who is at home in these situations.  I stroked her hair, spoke slowly and quietly, and gradually, with human touch, talk, medication, ice packs,  positioning, and patience, she became a rational human adult ready to go it alone on the regular surgical floor.  But, I am now home with a sore and swollen hand, a sacrifice to one patient's recovery from anesthesia.

I have to keep my eye on the goal; I am a nurse, a person who has chosen a field that requires not only sharp medical skills and knowledge, but stellar people skills.  In these situations, I sometimes feel like I am outside myself, speaking a role.  It is the professional behavior adopted by doctors, teachers, psychologists, salesmen, and parents the world over.  Don't react; don't shoot from the hip; behave in a therapeutic manner, placing personal issues aside.  

Despite the bad news one can read in the daily newspaper, our society is not aggressive and hostile.  There exists, just under the street-level chaos, a culture of caring, of acceptance, of forgiveness.  It is in the health care professions that one will find those willing to sacrifice, to accept, to give allowance to, to support without judgement.  We are the folks who hear you and see you in your worst moments, who accept and forgive you.  

Our knowledge of your body and mind allow us to be indulgent to your worst behavior.  We will not joke about, sneer at, or judge you for however you are at your most vulnerable.  We will be your mommy, daddy, friend or ally during your time of need.  And then, when you have regained yourself, we will support and respect you.  We are your nurses, your doctors, your respiratory therapists, your certified nursing assistants.  We are there for you.

And now, I have to go put an ice pack on my hand...