Friday, May 27, 2005

Caring

Last night I got into bed at about midnight only to get up and call the health nurse for Phil. To me it sounded like he was having an allergic reaction to the drug Sudafed. His arms and legs were going numb. So after she asked a million questions we were told to go to emergency and to actually call an ambulance to pick him up. We opted out of the ambulance thing - expensive and it wasn't all that big of an emergency to him. So early morning trip to the hospital. While in there I noticed a harsh reality. People really don't care.
They are just there to do their job and even that seems tough to them. I am a caring person and I found it tough the way they just brushed things off.
There was a little girl who came in for that really bad cold going around. The doctor wanted to put a face mask on her and give her some medication through it. He told the mom that they were going to give her some air. The mom and the little girl didn't know what that was. I had volunteered in the hospital as a candy striper so I had seen this done before. So I told them what I thought the doctor was going to give her. I was right.
So the nurse came in, still didn't explain anything to her and put on the mask and turned it on. The little girl started to panic. The mom jumped up next to her and was telling her it would be ok. The nurse didn't reassure her or anything. She just walked out. The mom sat back down once her daughter calmed down, but the kid was breathing so fast that she would have hyperventilated herself. I told her to calm down, that it was ok and to take slow breaths. Just like when you normally breathed. I talked her through it and she calmed down. Then I kept telling her how good of a job she was doing.
I was just so offended with the way the nurse didn't respond. Do they not care? They are just too busy? I think though that when someone is scared that is when you need to take the extra time to reassure them. When did they loose the passion for the job? Makes me wonder if they really are happy or not.
The doctor that dealt with Phil didn't tell him what kind of tests they were going to do, just started them. Sent him for xrays and took his blood. It would have been nice to know what was going on. So he was told that all his tests results were ok and the xray came back clear and that they would send him home. I said, whoa. What was going on then? He said it could have been an allergic reaction to the medication. So I asked if we need to be careful when he takes medicines with the same ingredients in it. He said yes. I couldn't help but feel like we were taking up too much of his time but I didn't care.
So, we got home and into bed at 3:30. My husband is such a trooper and one of the most dedicated caring people I know. He got up and left for work at 5:30. I told him to get back into bed and he said that it wouldn't be fair to leave his boss stranded. I told him that he needs to take care of himself. But he persisted on going to work to do his job so that he wouldn't put his boss out. Amazing. I can learn a lot from him and so can others. He is ok and he feels better. What a trooper.
It just amazes me how many people out there have seemed to of lost that caring ability. That just seem to not care anymore and just do their job because they have to and make us feel like we are wasting their time. It is sad really.

4 comments:

Sue said...

I am glad that Phil is okay. That man needs a break though.

Miss-buggy said...

He really does. He needs to slow down.

Kaylyn said...

I am glad to hear that Phil is ok. The health staff in this province are over worked and under paid. Sorry to hear that they treated u badly.

Miss-buggy said...

I just felt so bad for the little girl. She was scared and needed to be reassured. I was doing it instead of the nurse. Kids get scared you need to explain things to them and sometimed tell them that they are doing a good job.