LISTENING IS LIFE-SAVING - A Thank You Doesn't Seem Enough to Show My Gratitude
Life has a way of throwing you curveballs - unexpected challenges, to which we never dreamed we would have to rise! Last Saturday was one of those calls to attention for me!
Living with a C-6 quadriplegic has taught me so much about routines. Ray's challenges have become mine but, have also taught me so much about planning over the last 27 years. In those 27 years, I've never lost my appreciation for planning - and planning well - DETAILED!
We have very regimented morning and evening routines and we are both programmed not to stray from those routines. Last Saturday, my hubby opted to sleep-in, a rare request. He slept in again...and again...and again. He later opted not to even turn on college football on the TV, a REALLY rare phenomenon! He developed a fever over 102º and became even more dis-interested in basically, life itself.
Near the end of the day, I texted his internal medicine physician who instructed me to get him directly to the emergency room. I did and believe me, it took everything the two of us had to do so. Ray's words, "I'm not paying for an ambulance - no, I'm not going."
I feel like my life is one, never-ending string of negotiations - in both personal and business life! Ray FINALLY (2 hours after his doctor instructed me to get him to the ER) agreed to let me take him. By the time we got to the emergency room, he was incredibly weak and it wasn't long before he 'crashed' before my very eyes.
In fact, if you do a search for "levophed leave 'em dead," you will understand why this former nurse may have freaked out, just a bit, when the doctor told me they were sending my hubby to the Intensive Care Unit on Levophed. It was surreal!
He was in incredibly good hands but, I could not help but, worry that Levophed was Ray's last-ditch effort to keep him alive. The doctors asked me to go home to retrieve medications that the hospital doesn't normally keep in stock and return to one of our area's major medical centers.
I'm thankful that they did because, it wasn't until after his discharge that I was informed that he was airlifted to that major hospital. Let me add that being a nurse in my former life is not always a good thing - especially when someone you love, more than life itself, is in a critical state!
Thankfully Ray's youth (54 years old) helped him pull through this life-threatening diagnosis. And, THANKFULLY, after one VERY LONG WEEK, we have a diagnosis of sepsis. Yes, it took nearly a week to get us a diagnosis but, it's such a huge relief to know that all we need are some serious antibiotics and he'll be just fine in a week or so.
I'm so very thankful for the incredibly intelligent physicians and nurses at our local medical centers. I'm thankful for the nurses and doctors who literally saved my husband's life last weekend. I cannot imagine being in a remote location and not being able to convince him to go to the emergency room; I am convinced that he would not have made it.
I could not be more thankful for those same physicians and nurses, none of whom would leave his room until they had answers, none of whom would leave my side until they knew they had given me their most detailed answers and all of whom were at our beck and call, for an entire week.
We still don't have the full diagnosis - it is expected tomorrow - but, I cannot express how grateful we are for the wonderful care we got from the staff at Atrium last week. I cannot thank them enough for, LITERALLY, saving my husband's life. I cannot thank them enough for answering every single question I had and for not making me feel that I was annoying to them for the endless barrage of questions. Each and every nurse and doctor actually LISTENED to my concerns, ordered tests, based on the information that I provided and held my hand in the middle of the night when there was no one else to do so.
While I used to be a nurse, I don't believe that I ever fully realized the impact first responders have upon patients and families. The fact that those first responders actually LISTENED to me had EVERYTHING to do with them being able to save my husband's life last weekend.
Much has been said about listening to continue a conversation and listening to LEARN - to actually HEAR what others are saying. In this case, LISTENING WAS LIFE-SAVING.
This Thanksgiving will be ever-so special for our family. We came painfully close to losing one of the most special people in many of our lives (especially mine!). Today I am so very thankful for those who give so much of themselves to not only save others but, to give their families incredible support and compassion.
***The photo is from the early morning sunrise from the CVRU (ICU) waiting room. I was escorted out of the room (I actually beat the helicopter to the unit) and walked into the waiting room, facing this sunrise. For those of you who know Ray and me, this was another surreal moment.
© Debe Maxwell, CRS | The Maxwell House Group | Savvy + CO | SavvyBroker@me.com | A Thank You Doesn't Seem Enough to Show My Gratitude
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