Surgical ICU

Golly, reading over the last few posts I realized that writing things down in a hurry probably isn't the best thing. I tend to be very factual when doing so. Sorry, makes for a pretty boring read. I'm making some time right now!

Today I was in surgical ICU. The nurse I was shadowing--not helpful at all. Lame. One of my patients was conscious and intubated, and kept on trying to communicate with one hand that was restrained to the bed. He kept asking for water and ice. Then he motioned that he wanted a pen and paper, so after I fetched it he wrote, "You have to take this out." I was impressed because the pen/paper thing usually doesn't work (the patients are too sedated). One time I couldn't guess what he was saying, so he very kindly gave me the birdie. And I very kindly chuckled, said sorry, and left. : ) It would be so frustrating not being able to communicate...poor guy. 25 years old.

My other patient is a very sad story. His dad died earlier this week...I'm not sure if it was natural death or suicide. The patient was distraught so he went to a bar, got drunk, and called a friend to pick him up. When his friend got there he parked across the street, motioned at the patient to come to his car. As the patient was crossing the street he got hit by an oncoming car. He was pronounced brain dead 3 days ago. His mom is already institutionalized, so it was up to his younger brother and sister to make the decisions regarding organ donations. His body could save 7 lives. Right now he's still hooked up to machines that are keeping his body (not brain) alive, so to the family it may appear that he's still alive, but without those things his heart would stop beating in minutes--maybe seconds. It was the saddest thing to see the nurse shine a flashlight in his eyes and there be no reaction. He was 23. He had just gotten out of the military less than a month ago, so all of his buddies were coming in and leaving their patches at his bedside.

I learned alot about organ donations today. In case you are interested, you have to go online and register to be an official organ donor. Having a sticker on your license doesn't do it. If you're not registered online, the choice is up to the family, and it's usually a very hard choice considering the circumstances. As for me, I think I want to donate everything--if it ever came to that.

It was a hard day.