Saturday, October 22, 2005
Self-inflicted wounds
Tonight is one of those nights when I question everything. I wonder if I made the right decision pursuing a career in healthcare. In less than a year, God willing, I'll be an RN. Sometimes I wonder why I chose to inflict myself this way.
Tonight I've been taking care of a patient who's primary problem is a history of drug abuse. She can't make it to the bedside commode without help. Sometimes she can't make it at all. She's wet the bed three times. Once it was more than just wet. Another time I had to take away her sandwich because she had fallen asleep with it in her mouth.
Sometimes a simple history of drug abuse doesn't give the whole picture. Sometimes there are patients who have lifelong chronic illnesses for which they self-medicate. Some folks have support systems and healthy coping mechanisms, like a strong family and a healthy relationship with God. Other folks choose to self medicate with alcohol or drugs. This lack of effective coping skills is a valid nursing diagnosis, but there are interventions available.
This is seen in healthcare frequently, unfortunately. Another patient I remember had cardiomegaly so bad her stroke volume was around 20% of normal. Naturally she was on a ventilator. It was all a direct result of her history of cocaine abuse.
We all go through rough patches in our lives. I went through a very difficult time right after I graduated from high school, and then again when I graduated from Purdue. Once those support mechanisms and friendships were gone, it was difficult to adjust to those changes and find my place. Someone else who is very close to me was in that same situation and tried to commit suicide. But the need for compassion is universal at some point in everyone's lives.
Some people are easy to care for. Some people make my job easy. You should have seen me in clinical caring for a one-week-old infant. I had never held a baby before, but you would have thought I was an old pro. How can one not love a baby? Especially one that was all but abandoned by its family.
However, it's times like tonight when it is hard to remember that God wants me to care for the sick, especially those whose wounds are self-inflicted.
Luke 4:40 (New International Version)
40When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one(emphasis mine), he healed them.
Tonight I've been taking care of a patient who's primary problem is a history of drug abuse. She can't make it to the bedside commode without help. Sometimes she can't make it at all. She's wet the bed three times. Once it was more than just wet. Another time I had to take away her sandwich because she had fallen asleep with it in her mouth.
Sometimes a simple history of drug abuse doesn't give the whole picture. Sometimes there are patients who have lifelong chronic illnesses for which they self-medicate. Some folks have support systems and healthy coping mechanisms, like a strong family and a healthy relationship with God. Other folks choose to self medicate with alcohol or drugs. This lack of effective coping skills is a valid nursing diagnosis, but there are interventions available.
This is seen in healthcare frequently, unfortunately. Another patient I remember had cardiomegaly so bad her stroke volume was around 20% of normal. Naturally she was on a ventilator. It was all a direct result of her history of cocaine abuse.
We all go through rough patches in our lives. I went through a very difficult time right after I graduated from high school, and then again when I graduated from Purdue. Once those support mechanisms and friendships were gone, it was difficult to adjust to those changes and find my place. Someone else who is very close to me was in that same situation and tried to commit suicide. But the need for compassion is universal at some point in everyone's lives.
Some people are easy to care for. Some people make my job easy. You should have seen me in clinical caring for a one-week-old infant. I had never held a baby before, but you would have thought I was an old pro. How can one not love a baby? Especially one that was all but abandoned by its family.
However, it's times like tonight when it is hard to remember that God wants me to care for the sick, especially those whose wounds are self-inflicted.
Luke 4:40 (New International Version)
40When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one(emphasis mine), he healed them.
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Otho,
I have found that if I remember that I was also in that condition it makes caring easy. We all were at one time the property of Satan as a result of Adam. It wasn't our desire to be, but it was a fact. He's been especially brutal to man, and we have had no equipment with which to resist or fight. All man-kind bears the bruises of Satan.
Thank God for his grace in the face of Jesus. I'm sure you also know and feel this way. Just a little fellow-ship with you in the goodness of God.
Be Blessed,
Pete
I have found that if I remember that I was also in that condition it makes caring easy. We all were at one time the property of Satan as a result of Adam. It wasn't our desire to be, but it was a fact. He's been especially brutal to man, and we have had no equipment with which to resist or fight. All man-kind bears the bruises of Satan.
Thank God for his grace in the face of Jesus. I'm sure you also know and feel this way. Just a little fellow-ship with you in the goodness of God.
Be Blessed,
Pete
Otho, I thank God for people like yourself. It's got to be quite a job to be a nurse, and I believe, a true calling. (if you've read my blog from Sunday, you'll know I certainly couldn't do it)
The burden can be great, but the reward even greater!
God bless you~
The burden can be great, but the reward even greater!
God bless you~
# posted by 
: 1:08 PM
: 1:08 PM
My son is someone you just described, but not that bad. I think that we all self-inflict this or that on ourselves. We do things that cause God to shake his head and say, "Dear child, why are you doing this to yourself"? Do we know why? Usually not, but we look to HIm for the answer. Some do not know to do that--show them. You are a blessing in what you do. My two sisters and my sister-in-law are nurses and I don't know that I could handle the ups and downs of the job, but if He calls you to do it, He will give you what you need and blessings too.
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