I don't really talk here about nursing school and how things are progressing. I like to think its due to being busy with everything. School, work, kids, life. Truth is, if I wanted to share, I could find the time. Tonight, I kinda feel like sharing.
I am almost through year two of four. I have three exams this coming week and a fourth exam the following Monday. My grades are good enough so far this semester that I am not worried about any of the exams because I have already reached the required 60% in each of them without even writing the exams. It's a nice feeling, though I still want to do well, since my GPA could certainly use a little boost.
I'm still working at the nursing home. I was there this morning, in fact, and that is the reason I felt like writing tonight. At the beginning of my shift, I was told that one of my residents was going to be leaving at 1:00 or 1:30 to attend his wife's funeral. This was a newer resident who I had never had on my list before. His wife was a resident there as well before she passed. They shared a room, though she didn't seem to realize that he was her husband. Neurological diseases are kinda frightening like that. Anyways, she had passed away, and it was going to be my responsibility to help him get ready to go to her funeral. He uses a wheelchair for mobility and needs a fair bit of help with getting dressed and general hygiene. The LPN on duty figured it would be best if we got him dressed in regular clothes for the morning, then get him into nicer clothes following lunch - just to ensure he looked his best when his family arrived to pick him up. Well, we were short-staffed and at lunchtime, it wasn't looking like we would have the time to help him out. He was asking the LPN if someone could please come help, and she just kept saying that we would be there when we had time. I couldn't believe it. I made arrangements with my co-worker to handle things in the dining-room so that I could go help him. The LPN actually rolled her eyes at me as I went over to him and said that I would take him to his room to get him ready in time. The look he gave me was pure gratitude. I found his nicest pair of pants, a sharp-looking shirt and his shiniest black shoes. He asked me if I thought he should be wear a tie. I asked him if he had one and he said he did not. I asked him if he would like to wear one and he said yes. I asked another resident if we could borrow one of his for the day, and he agreed. I tied the tie around my neck, them removed it and placed it around his. He was so happy and it took so little. He just wanted to make sure he looked his best at his wife's funeral. When I wheeled him out to the elevators to wait for his family, he was complimented by several other residents and a few staff members. I left him there and returned to work. A while later, I passed by the elevators again and he was there with his family - about to leave. He was crying and motioned at me and said "it was him. he's the one". His family members all smiled and as I walked by, he reached his hand out and shook mine. "Thank you so much".
