the other side of the table
was it really just 48 hours ago that my husband asked me, "can you listen to me with your stethoscope"?
i asked what was going on and he described symptoms consistent with an acute myocardial infarction [heart attack]. OK, one for you and one for me, my dear.
i jumped into medical/cardiac ICU nurse mode. getting vital signs, documenting w/ time and date symptoms, history, giving him an aspirin to chew, and denying him food and water and whisking him to the ED.
then there's the moment of pure terror right after admission when i see an abnormal rhythm and a too fast heart rate [140]. and i'm thinking, oh my god, he had a heart attack and now his damaged heart is putting out an abnormal rhythm.
and so follows 24 hours of the scariest time of my life as my husband is in the hospital awaiting a procedure in the cardiac cath lab scheduled for the next day.
this story has a happy ending - of all the terrible, perfectly possible bad things that could have been going on none of them were. medication changes and lifestyle changes. a new MD, a cardiologist, to follow him.
during the 24 hours of fear and little sleep, it was prayer, meditation, and the support of friends that gave me comfort. small kindness from two of his nurses were HUGE to me.
as a nurse, i have always tried to be kind, gentle, and informative to my patient's families. but i will endeavor to do this even more so: the other side of the assessment table - it's a scary place to be.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."
i asked what was going on and he described symptoms consistent with an acute myocardial infarction [heart attack]. OK, one for you and one for me, my dear.
i jumped into medical/cardiac ICU nurse mode. getting vital signs, documenting w/ time and date symptoms, history, giving him an aspirin to chew, and denying him food and water and whisking him to the ED.
then there's the moment of pure terror right after admission when i see an abnormal rhythm and a too fast heart rate [140]. and i'm thinking, oh my god, he had a heart attack and now his damaged heart is putting out an abnormal rhythm.
and so follows 24 hours of the scariest time of my life as my husband is in the hospital awaiting a procedure in the cardiac cath lab scheduled for the next day.
this story has a happy ending - of all the terrible, perfectly possible bad things that could have been going on none of them were. medication changes and lifestyle changes. a new MD, a cardiologist, to follow him.
during the 24 hours of fear and little sleep, it was prayer, meditation, and the support of friends that gave me comfort. small kindness from two of his nurses were HUGE to me.
as a nurse, i have always tried to be kind, gentle, and informative to my patient's families. but i will endeavor to do this even more so: the other side of the assessment table - it's a scary place to be.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."
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