Yesterday at my internship there were so many people. Nearly all the rooms were full. This is something they call holiday depression. Where people overdose on drugs, get drunk, choke on chicken bones, etc. I suppose there's a reason for all of this. It's probably because the holiday season drives people insane, which is understandable (relatives can be problematic at times). There was a lady that was yelling at everyone and accusing a nurse of abusing her. She then proceeded to blame the moon for everyone going crazy, but that's beyond the point and perhaps a story for another day.
I assumed I was going to continue the night waiting on all of these types of crazies until I walked past a room and saw that someone's food tray was empty and sitting on the adjustable table beside their bed. Reluctantly, I thought to myself, "Well, since I'm here already I might as well take it..." I approached the room and inside was a little old lady watching tv by herself. She looked so frail and delicate. I flashed her a smile and asked her if she was finished with her dinner. What happened next was unexpected. She smiled back and told me that it was really good, especially the canned pineapple. Canned pineapple? I hate canned pineapple. I can't stand it, it tastes like a moldy sponge (not that I've eaten a moldy sponge before..). She made it sound like it was the best thing she had ever eaten in her life. She then asked me if it would be okay for her to have some diet soda because they gave her milk on her tray, but she remembered they told her previously that she couldn't drink/eat anything containing lactose. No one ever listens to what the doctors say. Patients always go around messing up tests results. That's just what people do. She seemed like she wanted more pineapples, but she told me that if she had anymore pineapples it might be bad for the tests that needed to be run the following day; Thanksgiving. She was so sweet I decided to see if I could convince the RN to order her some more canned pineapple whilst checking her nutrition report to see if I could get her a diet soda.
I ended up only being able to get her the diet soda. They were understaffed in the kitchen and their main priority was to get the meals out to patients that have not yet eaten. From my understanding, they didn't want to deal with a little bowl of canned pineapple. That made me sad. I considered leaving the hospital, finding a grocery store, and getting it for her myself, but obviously I can't up and leave in the middle of an internship. I brought the soda to the room and apologized for not being able to get the pineapple. I saw that her hand was hooked up to a myriad of needles, (IV and meds) so I opened the soda for her. She said that she felt spoiled by me and thanked me for trying with the pineapple. She told me that she had to use the restroom and that she might need help later because she couldn't really walk well with her leg (she just had surgery). I asked her about it and we ended up talking for 45 minutes.
I wondered how such a nice lady would have no one with her during the holidays, especially after surgery. As I talked to her I learned about her husband that passed away and her son that was on the east coast with his own family. She was smiling the whole time she told me her story. I, on the other hand, was about to cry. I gazed at her in admiration and wondered, "How can someone be so strong?" I really wanted to stay with her longer, but the nurses were looking for me; they needed blood (not my blood, of course). I was really hesitant about leaving. She was the sweetest patient I've ever encountered. And for her to have no one there for her... it's not fair. Not even on Thanksgiving? It's really not fair. Even the jerks have their jerk relatives. Unfortunately, I had to make up for my 45 minutes of inactivity, so I ended up staying later finishing all the paper work. It was worth it though, I would have gladly stayed the whole night talking to her if she wanted me to. When I finished all my work, I went back to the room to say happy thanksgiving and goodnight before I took off, but she had already fallen asleep and I wasn't going to wake her.
So I've been thinking (too much as usual)... I'm so spoiled by you guys. I've always had this stable group of friends that I've been able to depend on. Sometimes I take it for granted because that fact makes me assume that I should be able to depend on anyone I meet (and it irritates me when I can't -- 99% of the time), but that's not true because I realize that I've only met one person here that I would ensure my life to and that was due to sheer luck (meaning I wasn't trying to make friends i.e. in class or whatever it just happened that we lived together last year). Being able to trust someone is a rarity and the fact that I can easily share everything with you guys is an amazing feat within itself. How was I so lucky to find so many amazing people? Thanks for spoiling me. And as much as I may deny this in person, and as disgusting as it sounds coming from me... I love you all :)
think & wonder <3
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