Thumbs Up - Hospital and Hospice Workers

If you have ever spent any time in a hospital ... or ever spent any time as a recovering patient, you may know the discomforts of:

1) not sleeping in your own bed
2) not being allowed to have solid food and when you get some it doesn't taste right
3) being pumped full of medicines, feeling groggy, waiting for the pain meds etc. OR
4) feeling alone, feeling crowded by noisy family members (or worse, being annoyed by noisy family members visiting your roommate),

then you know that a hospital stay, albeit short these days, is no way to spend a spring day, wait, no way to spend time in the summer, wait, a good waste of a beautiful fall day ... hey, its not even a good way to spend time in the dead of winter, but ... sometimes it happens.

Now, picture this, you have a job, you have long hours, you are on your feet a good part of the day and you work with people who:

1) whine and complain about the uncomfortable hospital beds, pillows, lack of blankets, too many blankets ... etc (while you are trying to get your real work done)
2) spend a lot of your time trying to talk you into getting them off of "clear liquids only", get them different tray of food, get them drive-in window food, or complain about the hospital food, the service or that something was cold or not salty enough (while you are trying to get your real work done)
3) who tell you they are not going to take the medicine you just brought to them, tell you they want different meds, tell you they know these meds won't work and talk to you about everything under the sun while you are just supposed to watch them take their meds (part of getting your real work done) OR
4) ask you if their family members called ... ask you about your family (when you don't have time to talk) or they tell you why they no longer talk to their sister or they "understand" that their children are busy with their work and kids of their own and that's why they have not been in to see them. Then you hear them clearing their throat and wiping away a tear as you walk out of the room ... because they are lonely and you know that they would feel so much brighter if someone would give them a 5 minute phone call or a 30 minute visit!

Well, you might know these situations on a daily basis if you are a nurse. I have observed nurses: provide never ending pillow fluffs, get you drinks and jello all day and night, listen patiently while you try to eat the food provided and help you get something in your stomach when it is time for that, and I have seen more than one situation where nurses listen while you talk about estranged family members, they cry with you when they see that your own family is "too busy" for a phone call or a visit and they tell you a little bit about their family (when asked) just so you will have a conversation about home and family.

The real bite for these nurses and other hospital workers is that many times they do a thankless job. So, I'd like to take this time to thank all of the patients, cranky or not, who remember to send a card to the nurses station, who hug or otherwise thank their nurse(s) before they leave the hospital. I'd even like to thank the patients who tell the stories for years to come about the fact that those nurses down there must be saints because you must have said some things and complained a lot after surgery. However, all you remember is being a bundle of nerves and lashing out at the first person who came near.

Anyway, I hope you came away with a story to tell your family and friends about these busy AND caring health care workers at the hospital. Even if they did not help you with the (let's face it, somewhat superficial) tasks, they were taking care of you in the background monitoring, dosing, and reporting on your status -- but that may have not been as evident to you in your groggy state of mind.

Now the real thanks goes to all of those nurses, hospice workers and health care staff who listen, take time to talk to you to help you understand your illness or your wellness status. Those persons should be among the highest paid people on the planet because they must have the stamina and the knowledge of a saint just do do their daily job!

So, thumbs up to untiring hospice workers, helpful nurses and all the many people who take a second to flash a smile ... even when you are at your worst and may not even remember being a royal pain! I salute you. Keep Up The Good Work!

Here's hoping you never experience any of these health care workers at a hospital or a hospice, but take my word for it, they need some THANKS, they need a raise and most of them need a rest but they will always return a smile whether they get the thanks they deserve or not!