Uh oh.
So last night it got busy around 8 pm. My area was full and under control. The area next to mine got slammed with a bunch of new patients while the RN there was busy dealing with her sickest patient. So I pitched in.
A very sick, and very neglected elderly lady was placed in one of the beds. She was confused, and had been for two weeks, ever since she fell at home and wasn't able to get up, according to her family. She was obviously not being taken care of properly at home. She was covered in poop and urine from her knees to her navel (back and front), her butt was excoriated from the poop, and she had some sores on her belly. She would wake up and holler if I tried to move her, but other than that, she was very quiet. She had a raging fever and was probably septic.
I worked her up for the other nurse.
And I cleaned her.
And then she became unresponsive about a half-hour after that. Then she died about four hours later, according to my coworker.
I'm the angel of death. Except that instead of a scythe, I carry a washcloth and towels.
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12 comments:
Its amazing how much dirt and grime can hold a person together...
It's like wiping the rust off of a car; it will just fall apart..
What is it they say... "Cleanliness is next to Godliness?"...
you didn't point at her and say "kitty" perchance?
She was clean and comfortable... surely a much better way to go?
Yep I agree with Ward, somebody cared, now for that family......they should rot in jail.
only waited two weeks to bring her in?
Guess the family got tired of the smell.
yet another proof that getting old is one of the saddest thing that can happen to a human being. not just the possibility that you will be neglected, but also that there is nothing you can do about it.
weird that we feel responsible for everything, even if we did the right, compassionate thing. it almost seems like they were waiting to be cleaned, so they can go.
No one should have to live dirty, much less die dirty. Not in this country. I had a little old guy with advanced Parkinson's come in last week that had been laying in his own filth for days. Finally someone called DCF on the family. We suctioned solid rotting foot out of his pharynx because he couldn't swallow. All I wanted to do was deck his crazy caretaker, who feigned ignorance. (But I guess she really was enjoying cashing his SS check).
This stuff burns my hard earned balls.
You are an angel, GG, but not an angel of death. I don't understand how evil, greedy, ignorant SOB's can treat their elders with such cruelty. I pray there is a "special" place in the afterlife for them.
Your peoples come to you for comfort and peace so that they can move on. I am sure it must be easier to move on once they are clean and more comfortable. Thanks to you and your heart, the last thing they smelled wasn't their own filth.
You rock, GG! Thank you for being a nurse and thank you for caring!
Angel of death? No - unless you are helping them to move along with something more than kindness. Some people just keep fighting death until they feel they are in a comfortable place to die, or with family (those who bring comfort).
An angel, but not and angel of death. Thank you for caring and giving her TLC and dignity at the end of her life.
Ha Ha Mike Wilson.... I love that book and I love Christopher Moore. And I love your blog GG
Meghan
ER Nurse in CA
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