Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Week 3 Begins
Week 3 of CPE began yesterday, which passed slowly for me. I was very tired (don't know why, I got good sleep Sunday night) and somewhat out of sorts when I arrived in the morning. I don't know what caused that, but at least it has passed now. I made some visits on my floor (7th floor - CICU and MICU, plus a step down unit), which were awkward. The first patient I visited had a lot of family with him and so I talked with them as he was sedated. They were kind and receptive to my visit. The second patient I saw had his two sons with him, but he was also sedated and in very critical condition. An Indian family, the nurse told me they were Hindu, but I discovered they were actually Muslim. I spoke with the sons briefly and offered a blessing before leavings. My third visit was actually pretty good. The patient was sedated and unconscious, but had no one in the room with him. I spoke to him for a few minutes, offered a prayer, and left. The nurse said his wife may need some support, so I made a note to go back. The last person I visited was also alone. I decided to go in and say hello to him and offer a prayer. But when I got in there, I realized I didn't know his name, which made me feel awkward and unprepared. Plus, his eyes were halfway open, which unnerved me for some reason. It was strange. I left quickly without saying anything - I'm going to spend some time with those feelings so I can figure them out. The rest of the day was spent in group. I am on for doing devotions this week, and am providing them out of David Adam's book, The Rhythm of Life: Celtic Daily Prayer. Last night I finished writing my verbatim and hit the sack after playing a round of Warcraft.
Today has gone remarkably better. Even though I made a visit this morning that didn't go as well as it could have, I am in a much better mood today, which always reflects better in my work. I was handed a trauma case as soon as I walked in this morning and went after morning report to handle that case. This guy was conscious but in a lot of pain from his fall. I talked to him a lot, but couldn't hold his hand as he had really hurt his fingers, so I held his shoulder. His family arriverd about an hour later and I spent some time with them, which they appeared to appreciate, and headed up to 7 to visit the patients from yesterday and introduce myself to a new patient (who didn't speak English, so it was a short visit). I met the wife of the man who was alone yesterday and spent some time with her; she was being very brave, but was also very sad - signed a DNR yesterday and is coming to grips with that. I asked her if she wanted to pray and she said yes, so we went over by the bedside and held hands with her husband while I prayed a prayer for healing and for the comfort of the Holy Spirit. I'll be back for sure to visit them. The guy with the large family visiting him will be coming off sedation today and so will be waking up. I said I'd come back when he was up and the family said that would be the visit from hell because they are anticipating his being very out of sorts. Actually, the direct quote was, "It will be like a live encounter with Tony Soprano." I grinned, said Tony and I were old friends, blessed him and said I'd return. Now it is lunch time and I have to go eat. Peace.
-R
Week 3 of CPE began yesterday, which passed slowly for me. I was very tired (don't know why, I got good sleep Sunday night) and somewhat out of sorts when I arrived in the morning. I don't know what caused that, but at least it has passed now. I made some visits on my floor (7th floor - CICU and MICU, plus a step down unit), which were awkward. The first patient I visited had a lot of family with him and so I talked with them as he was sedated. They were kind and receptive to my visit. The second patient I saw had his two sons with him, but he was also sedated and in very critical condition. An Indian family, the nurse told me they were Hindu, but I discovered they were actually Muslim. I spoke with the sons briefly and offered a blessing before leavings. My third visit was actually pretty good. The patient was sedated and unconscious, but had no one in the room with him. I spoke to him for a few minutes, offered a prayer, and left. The nurse said his wife may need some support, so I made a note to go back. The last person I visited was also alone. I decided to go in and say hello to him and offer a prayer. But when I got in there, I realized I didn't know his name, which made me feel awkward and unprepared. Plus, his eyes were halfway open, which unnerved me for some reason. It was strange. I left quickly without saying anything - I'm going to spend some time with those feelings so I can figure them out. The rest of the day was spent in group. I am on for doing devotions this week, and am providing them out of David Adam's book, The Rhythm of Life: Celtic Daily Prayer. Last night I finished writing my verbatim and hit the sack after playing a round of Warcraft.
Today has gone remarkably better. Even though I made a visit this morning that didn't go as well as it could have, I am in a much better mood today, which always reflects better in my work. I was handed a trauma case as soon as I walked in this morning and went after morning report to handle that case. This guy was conscious but in a lot of pain from his fall. I talked to him a lot, but couldn't hold his hand as he had really hurt his fingers, so I held his shoulder. His family arriverd about an hour later and I spent some time with them, which they appeared to appreciate, and headed up to 7 to visit the patients from yesterday and introduce myself to a new patient (who didn't speak English, so it was a short visit). I met the wife of the man who was alone yesterday and spent some time with her; she was being very brave, but was also very sad - signed a DNR yesterday and is coming to grips with that. I asked her if she wanted to pray and she said yes, so we went over by the bedside and held hands with her husband while I prayed a prayer for healing and for the comfort of the Holy Spirit. I'll be back for sure to visit them. The guy with the large family visiting him will be coming off sedation today and so will be waking up. I said I'd come back when he was up and the family said that would be the visit from hell because they are anticipating his being very out of sorts. Actually, the direct quote was, "It will be like a live encounter with Tony Soprano." I grinned, said Tony and I were old friends, blessed him and said I'd return. Now it is lunch time and I have to go eat. Peace.
-R
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