This blog, may get cheesy, it may get sappy.
I work in a hospital. Everyday there are admissions, and people who just come and go out of the ER. For some crazy reason, I love the stories in the ER. I'll go down there on my breaks, and I've become friends with a few nurses down there so I am able to listen to the stories that come through. I'm weird like that. I'd love to work as an ER nurse. Anyway, the other day, at about 13:00 (that's 1:00 PM ) there was a trauma patient in the ER. We were sending meds left and right, as soon as the nurses sent the fax, we would have it down to them. It was for a J Doe, and I was curious. A J Doe?! That kind of thing only happens in the movies. Not in here!! So, once patient was transferred, and admitted, I went to where they were and I asked the nurse there, and this is what the nurse said. The patient had a headache that morning. They went to the Chiropractor, had their appointment, and left. When the Dr.'s office came back from lunch, they found the patient down on the ground, not breathing.
The patient had had an arterial aneurysm. He explained in great detail, and with a little picture of how massive this could be, and it also could have possibly been detected with the right tests, and scans. The ER had tried to do anything, and everything....but there was simply nothing they could do. And in an instant......the patient was gone. The patient was younger than 60. The patient, had an 18 year old child. The patient had just got married. And I'm willing to bet, that the patient didn't say or do everything they wanted to say that morning.
The patient was a few years younger than my dad and mom. When I think of it like that it really takes me back, and makes me realize....how short life really can be. And what sort of things we waste time, and energy on. (I'm very guilty of this). What things that we hold back, and the things we maybe shouldn't have said, or did. I saw this hope on the family's face....like they didn't understand the severity of what had truly happened to their family member, and when I worked the next day, they had declared the patient officially deceased. But the patient was an organ and tissue donor, so they were being kept "alive" until surgery. And I saw some sort of peace within the family. As if they knew that their loved one was helping to save the lives of others. This morning, was the surgery, and I woke up at the time it was starting, and I couldn't help but think of how quickly things can change. How fast this patient left their family's life.
I don't think it would be truly healthy or realistic to walk around thinking "Oh god...is this my last day on earth!!" We'd all be so paranoid, and wondering what is around the next corner. This whole thing really put everything I do, what I'm doing, into perspective. But, I want to start to remember to tell the people that I love, that I love them. To show them how much I care. There is only 1 chance to enjoy this beautiful life, and I don't want myself or my family to look back with regrets.
