Earlier today I was remembering.
His name was and he wore black scrubs.
As many years as I’ve spent in hospitals and nursing homes I can count the men that I’ve witnessed visiting on one hand. Less than a handful.
I encountered male doctors as a norm. However, finding men who were visiting or apart – I’m sorry I am so upset about today I can barely keep myself from shoving a knife through my heart – I could count the men that I’ve seen and witnessed on less than one hand. I took note anytime I would see a man at a nursing home, or by a hospital bed because the lack of their presence was astounding to me.
I never once thought that taking care of family or friends or visiting a sick person was a woman’s job.
My mother had just gotten out of surgery where they placed a PEG-tube in her stomach, they were wheeling her to her room and Billy was at the nurses’ station.
He wore all black scrubs which made him stand out from the usual cartoon or pastel scrubs every other nurse wore. He looked like he was wore comfortable in jeans and cowboy boots than scrubs.
The nurse informed us that my mother would probably not wake up for hours, and it would be best to go home. My brother left quickly trying to urge me to go home as well since it had already been such a day. My father left shortly after that too.
I could not.
Something in me said to stay.
So, I sat by her bed with the overhead lights off staring at the TV in silence. It wasn’t even 20 minutes later my mother shot straight up out of the bed trying to not just crawl but hurl herself out of the bed. I quickly called for . Because my mother could not speak from the stroke nor did she have the mental capability to push the nurses’ button to ask for help. You had to be there. She couldn’t communicate it otherwise.
didn’t understand why she was reacting that way but assured me he would get the answer.
It was a simple fix.
The doctor told him that perhaps the bandaging they had wrapped around her belly was too tight, so he loosened it.
That was it.
She was fine after that and went right back to sleep for hours. It took me hours to be able to leave after such a terrible occurrence.
All I could think about was if I hadn’t been there she would likely have jumped, fallen, climbed out of the bed trying to get relief and not being able to tell anyone or communicate it in anyway. She would have seriously hurt herself before anyone noticed there was a problem.
I so appreciated . I was so thankful for him and to him.
I hold that picture in my mind of him in the hospital in his black scrubs waiting for the time to put on his jeans and boots and drive off in his truck.
WE - DO NOT AGREE! 