Thursday, September 2, 2010

Perspective.....

I was at the hospital today visiting with Mom and waiting to talk with the nurse regarding her condition.  I arrived around 3:00pm and put in my request to talk with her before I even went into Mom's room.  I was told that the nurse had just admitted another patient, but "would be with me shortly"

That is a nebulous term, "be with you shortly"  I consider "shortly" to mean 15 or 20 minutes, wouldn't you?

Forty minutes later (yes 4-0) the nurse popped her head in the room and said that she was really busy but she would be back in "just a minute"  Now, I am not naive enough to think that just a minute means 60 seconds, but I think that perhaps 5-10 minutes is a reasonable time frame.

Shortly after this there was announcement over the intercom that a Dr. Anderson was needed in the ER - stat.  This was repeated about 3 times and I thought that perhaps we were dealing with a rush hour accident, or a heart attack patient.  I said a quick prayer for those in ER....but went on seething at the incredibly long wait that I had to endure in order to ask one simple question.

After one hour and ten minutes I left the hospital --- never having spoken to the nurse.  While I was quite frustrated, I did rationalize that there is always tomorrow.

Just now I was watching the news and I heard that a 7 year old boy tried to run between two cars walking home from school today.  He was rushed to the hospital at 3:45 PM -- the same hospital where my mom is staying.  They tried to resuscitate him; they tried to do all they could do.  He did not make it.

I am certain that Dr. Anderson was the doctor on call.

And I am so sorry that I my patience is so weak, and I am so self-centered, to think that I was being inconvenienced when a young boy was fighting for his life and a family was struggling downstairs.  Their lives are forever changed; and I have come to realize that I am truly blessed.

I pray for the ER staff who valiantly strived to save this young boy; I pray for his family - who is left wondering how on earth this could happen when the morning started off so typical; and I pray for the driver of the car that hit him --- knowing that they had no idea that a young child would run across their path so unexpectedly.

13 comments:

  1. Wow, serious reality check. But don't blame yourself. You are human, and you were worried about your mom. So your heart was in the right place anyway. That poor child's family...

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  2. Molly, that was a powerful piece of writing you did. Truly.

    My heart goes out to the child's family and everyone you mentioned. Such a tragedy.

    Also sorry about your frustrating time. Sometimes it's tough to get with the nurses, isn't it? My daughter is a RN who worked in a hospital and she always gave me the flipside of the story in that regard or as Paul Harvey said, "The rest of the story...". :-)

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  3. I echo Sandy's sentiments, but she said it so much better than I could.

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  4. Awww, Molly! Don't blame yourself. That poor family.. .

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  5. Your prayers and concern for everyone involved in this tragedy show what a caring person you are. We all have moments when impatience and frustration take over, but being in that spot allowed you to pray for that family - a story that may not have caught your attention otherwise. Maybe that was the reason for your long wait at the hospital. I know your prayers were heard and will help everyone involved.

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  6. Oh, Joan, I pray for you as well; that you know you were where you needed to be and that though you were impatient, as I would have been, someone else might have created an unwelcome stir, that your heart be still and that your question be answered soon.
    That poor family and such a young life now gone. How terribly sad.
    My thoughts are going your way today.

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  7. Molly, what a tragedy. They are unfolding every minute of every hour, aren't they?

    Thank you for stressing the sacredness, the tenuousness, of life.

    Patti

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  8. Wow. Thanks for posting that Molly. I think we ALL need a reminder of perspective.

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  9. How sad! But I don't think you need to feel guilty. Your impatience was caused by your need to care for your mother not by your own selfishness.

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  10. How sad! But I don't think you need to feel guilty. Your impatience was caused by your need to care for your mother not by your own selfishness.

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  11. I agree with Sandy - don't blame yourself for this. You had a right to worry and you had no idea about the boy. I would behave the exact same way, in fact my patience is even thinner where my loved ones are concerned.

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