It's hard to imagine a time in life when a person is more vulnerable than when they are in the hospital. In real life, patients don't look like they do on TV hospital dramas. Hospital gowns don't stay nicely closed and arranged. Before you know it, you're helping someone stand for the first time after surgery and their nipple pops out of the neckline of the gown and nearly pokes you in the eye.
Patients snore and fart in their sleep. Their hair is a perpetual mess. Let's face it, laying in a hospital bed all day isn't great for your 'do. Some pee and poop in the bed. Some don't bathe for a few days, and they stink. They hawk up mucus and leak from various holes placed in their body. They throw up, sometimes spectacularly, and often can't reach the emesis basin in time.
And they trust you to take care of them when they look and feel their absolute worst. They trust that you've been around long enough (even if you haven't) that you won't bat an eyelash at something like helping them empty a colostomy bag or wiping their ass because they can't bend or twist after their surgery or holding their legs apart so you can make sure their catheter didn't get pulled out.
What a heady, frightening, and awesome burden.
No comments:
Post a Comment