The sharp knife of a short life
4th time in my nursing career that I've read about a patient's death, either in the newspaper or other news source. 3 out of the 4 were directly under my care (one was from my old unit after I left there), and 1 out of the 4 were not obituaries. That was today's, today's was not an obit. The news story says there were "other issues" that may have contributed to the death, which...you can safely assume what that means. As I spent the rest of the morning getting ready for my day, I just kept thinking over and over, like I have in the past with any other news such as this. Was there more I could have said or done? Was there more any of us staff could have said or done?
The answer? The honest answer of it all? No. If we treated the person (notice I said person) with compassion, dignity, respect and gave them their undivided attention when they spoke to us, then we did everything right. We did our jobs. We took care of people, because let's face it, that very basic principle lays the foundation of our job. And then I thought about all that's going on in the world and the country, primarily with the fact that President #45 in his short tenure thus far has seemed to turn a lot of heads, but not entirely in a positive way. This of course has stirred up social media, and things are still stirring with no end in sight.
Does it matter? Really? Any of it? What's the point? Is posting the same thing over and over about the same issue solving anything? If it is, what is it solving? Once this is all said and done, what then? Listen, if you want things to change, they're not going to change overnight, people. I understand we all have rights, and we all want to be heard, I get that. I understand there is oppression going on and that there are some really awful and junky things going on, and it's horrible! I don't like it either, but while I'm not hiding from it, instead I'm choosing to spend my time being aware of the situations, praying about the direction God wants me to go about them and spending time with my loved ones and continuing to be a positive outlet in terms of using my social media accounts...and in my life in general.
Life is short, people, very short, as I was reminded yet again today. I think I forget that. I think we all forget that, am I right? If you had less than 24 hours left in your life, you sure as heck wouldn't be posting on your social media accounts about all that's going on in the world and how steamed off it's making you, right? I'm willing to bet you wouldn't even be posting on your social media accounts at all! No. You'd be spending time with friends and family, cherishing the wonderful moments you all were privileged to share in together. Because we only get one life, that's it. What are you doing with it? How are you spending it with the people you love? Listen, keep fighting for what you believe in, but also keep in mind what we are saying and how we are saying it. Take the time with your loved ones, thank God they're still in your life and be grateful. Be grateful that we are here in the now, because you never know. You never really know.
The answer? The honest answer of it all? No. If we treated the person (notice I said person) with compassion, dignity, respect and gave them their undivided attention when they spoke to us, then we did everything right. We did our jobs. We took care of people, because let's face it, that very basic principle lays the foundation of our job. And then I thought about all that's going on in the world and the country, primarily with the fact that President #45 in his short tenure thus far has seemed to turn a lot of heads, but not entirely in a positive way. This of course has stirred up social media, and things are still stirring with no end in sight.
Does it matter? Really? Any of it? What's the point? Is posting the same thing over and over about the same issue solving anything? If it is, what is it solving? Once this is all said and done, what then? Listen, if you want things to change, they're not going to change overnight, people. I understand we all have rights, and we all want to be heard, I get that. I understand there is oppression going on and that there are some really awful and junky things going on, and it's horrible! I don't like it either, but while I'm not hiding from it, instead I'm choosing to spend my time being aware of the situations, praying about the direction God wants me to go about them and spending time with my loved ones and continuing to be a positive outlet in terms of using my social media accounts...and in my life in general.
Life is short, people, very short, as I was reminded yet again today. I think I forget that. I think we all forget that, am I right? If you had less than 24 hours left in your life, you sure as heck wouldn't be posting on your social media accounts about all that's going on in the world and how steamed off it's making you, right? I'm willing to bet you wouldn't even be posting on your social media accounts at all! No. You'd be spending time with friends and family, cherishing the wonderful moments you all were privileged to share in together. Because we only get one life, that's it. What are you doing with it? How are you spending it with the people you love? Listen, keep fighting for what you believe in, but also keep in mind what we are saying and how we are saying it. Take the time with your loved ones, thank God they're still in your life and be grateful. Be grateful that we are here in the now, because you never know. You never really know.
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