We hear about compassion and generosity towards the needy, but I think that starts at home--with number one, so to speak. Because if you really don't love youself, you can write a $10,000 check, and it will be appreciated, but believe me, unless you stick around: practicing self love, and letting that shine, then the shelter (or whererver you wrote the check to), and showing people who may be down and out now, who may be sick, or infirm, injured, recovering from surgery, in advanced age, , or just very ill that you love them, but that love starts within.
And then what that allows is kindness and generosity to those who the average person would say "doesn't deserve it."
Excuse me, but we all do.
Rock bottom alcoholic, smelly drunk who would come into our ER, I would sigh, and just say "I'll take him/her." Even the one s that were known to be abusive; and especially the ones who werenn;t fond of bathing. 'Course, a shower was item number one-then check for lice, then scabies. Gross as it is usually is, on him..ugh, I still shudder, truthfully, but really, when you would just throw on a mask, tell him I had a virus, and do my best not to gag--until he showered, he smelled baaaad. But what was with my co-workers????
He came in one day just before I came on shift, complaining of deep, aching substernal chest pain...they stuck him in an exam room and closed the door!!! It was not a monitored bed!!!!! I was shocked. I marched right into the exam room, my gloved hand (I was not stupid) and marched him into the cardiac ICU room, and began, with the assistannce of the new graduate, hooking him up to the leads, ordering all the protocol, and I had the student give him a bed bath to kill most of the smell.
It turns out he was in the middle of an inferior wall heart attack.
Stupid people? Selfish? I don't know. Maybe both, and there was a huge backlash when the management found out. I didn't file an incident report--I pick my battles, that was not one I wanted to fight, nor was it one I was likely to win....
But I could keep being good to the ones like that guy, and hey, it made a difference, didn't it-saved his life?? I'll take that one home at night!!!
Made me feel better about my tenure as an RN...I wish I had a way I could do something now, but maybe when I am recovered enough I can get going on it.
For now, I have my memories.....
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