Whenever I get assigned to this one long term patient of ours in the Step Down Unit, I feel turnt! Haha! So since he's been with us for more than a year now, he already got all the tubes needed to keep his body going. First things first, I always greet him with a smile. I have limited Arabic vocabs(Ana jadid! Haha! I only know "arabic conyo") but good thing he can understand English. Then, I will ask him if he wanted me to turn on the tv so he can watch football on sports channel. Raising his brows would me an yes and and grumpy look implies a no. He can no longer move, so basically I do everything for him for 12 hours of his day. Apart from updating his physician about his status, my shift also includes suctioning secretions, feeding, giving medications, bathing, turning and making sure his vitals are stable.
I feel a bit downhearted because he doesn't have much visitors compared to the other patients. I never saw him sad, most of the time he's either mad or irritated over small stuff. So I feel like aside from maintaining his wellness, it have to put an effort to at least brighten up his day. That's why seeing him smile and whispering "thank you" is so precious to me.
