For the last 6 months I have been working with a young man going to school with him, and spending a lot of time in the summer with him and his family. We even recently went on a Make-A-Wish trip to Florida and spent 6 days going to Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World. We returned home from this trip a 10 days ago.
3 days later he passed away. It was a huge shock to all of us. Though we knew that he had a shortened life span because of his medical problems, no one had any clue that it would be this short.
He had a lovely funeral. His family had a huge amount of love and support from their family, friends, and neighbors. I was so glad that they were able to express the joy that he had brought into their lives, and the hope that they will see him again in the afterlife. Their religious beliefs and faith added to the joy by knowing that he will be restored to a full functioning body. The ability to walk, and talk, and to do all of those things that he wasn't able to do on this Earth sustained them thru the tears and the pain of laying his mortal body to rest.
As a nurse we are told over and over to not get attached. We are to do our job with compassion, but we are not to let our feelings interfere. I have been a nurse for 20+ years, and I can honestly say that I have never figured out where that line is. The line between being compassionate and caring, but not being overly attached to the patient. I can honestly say that this had been one of the hardest experiences of my nursing career.
I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone not to leave things unsaid. Hug your loved ones. Make that call and apologize to the person you have been meaning to. Write a letter that you have been putting off. Take time today, right this minute to do what it is that you have been figuring you will get around to later on.
Remember until next time:
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