Sometimes it's almost too painful to bear...

[bullypulpit]

We've been doing hemodialysis on a little old lady in ICU who lost most of her small intestine (>80%) after it strangulated. This would be hard enough on someone much younger, but somehow she's still alive. Confused, in pain, trached and on a vent, and receiving total parenteral nutrition, anemic (I gave her 2 units of blood yesterday), jaundiced...but alive.

It's really painful to watch. She and her husband have been together for more than 60 years, and they've got no one but themselves. As I run the dialysis, I can only watch, and offer an occasional word of comfort. I can see it eating at him as he tries to comfort her. I watch him bury his face in his hands and sob. He told me when we first started dialysis that "She never wanted to be like this...", but here she is. His only companion, for these many years, and now...he's helpless...he's going to lose her. I gotta stop now. I gotta go cry.

[Kathianne]

We've been doing hemodialysis on a little old lady in ICU who lost most of her small intestine (>80%) after it strangulated. This would be hard enough on someone much younger, but somehow she's still alive. Confused, in pain, trached and on a vent, and receiving total parenteral nutrition, anemic (I gave her 2 units of blood yesterday), jaundiced...but alive.

It's really painful to watch. She and her husband have been together for more than 60 years, and they've got no one but themselves. As I run the dialysis, I can only watch, and offer an occasional word of comfort. I can see it eating at him as he tries to comfort her. I watch him bury his face in his hands and sob. He told me when we first started dialysis that "She never wanted to be like this...", but here she is. His only companion, for these many years, and now...he's helpless...he's going to lose her. I gotta stop now. I gotta go cry.

Damn Bully, just when I was getting over my dad, cause of my nephew. Your patient sounds like my mom, but worse. While my mom wasn't 'the mom' I knew, for about 8 years she looked somewhat like her, but frustrated, yet still with it way too much of the time. She left, on her terms, about 4 years ago.

My dad, well he had a quicker and more chosen ending. Thank God. The day after his funeral, my brother's son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The operation is tomorrow, expected time 6-18 hours. Prognosis is not good, but not what we faced yesterday. Prayers asked!

[stephanie]

We've been doing hemodialysis on a little old lady in ICU who lost most of her small intestine (>80%) after it strangulated. This would be hard enough on someone much younger, but somehow she's still alive. Confused, in pain, trached and on a vent, and receiving total parenteral nutrition, anemic (I gave her 2 units of blood yesterday), jaundiced...but alive.

It's really painful to watch. She and her husband have been together for more than 60 years, and they've got no one but themselves. As I run the dialysis, I can only watch, and offer an occasional word of comfort. I can see it eating at him as he tries to comfort her. I watch him bury his face in his hands and sob. He told me when we first started dialysis that "She never wanted to be like this...", but here she is. His only companion, for these many years, and now...he's helpless...he's going to lose her. I gotta stop now. I gotta go cry.

Gosh Bully...Here's a
At least you're there for them...

[Guernicaa]

I'm sorry Bully. It makes me so upset thinking about these things. I can't even imagine how bad it must be to have to work there.

This reminds me of one of the most beautiful songs that I've ever heard come from a guitar:

aloC-acoC
By Brand New

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndID=235496991

Thats live, his voice is a little rusty.
Click on it if it doesn't play.

"If it's by air
I don't wanna know
If we all don't take cover then we're all gonna fall back in love again
You work late, you fight off your boss
Your patient dies, you take the night off"

[manu1959]

We've been doing hemodialysis on a little old lady in ICU who lost most of her small intestine (>80%) after it strangulated. This would be hard enough on someone much younger, but somehow she's still alive. Confused, in pain, trached and on a vent, and receiving total parenteral nutrition, anemic (I gave her 2 units of blood yesterday), jaundiced...but alive.

It's really painful to watch. She and her husband have been together for more than 60 years, and they've got no one but themselves. As I run the dialysis, I can only watch, and offer an occasional word of comfort. I can see it eating at him as he tries to comfort her. I watch him bury his face in his hands and sob. He told me when we first started dialysis that "She never wanted to be like this...", but here she is. His only companion, for these many years, and now...he's helpless...he's going to lose her. I gotta stop now. I gotta go cry.

sorry dude....take care of yourself .....

[Mr. P]

We've been doing hemodialysis on a little old lady in ICU who lost most of her small intestine (>80%) after it strangulated. This would be hard enough on someone much younger, but somehow she's still alive. Confused, in pain, trached and on a vent, and receiving total parenteral nutrition, anemic (I gave her 2 units of blood yesterday), jaundiced...but alive.

It's really painful to watch. She and her husband have been together for more than 60 years, and they've got no one but themselves. As I run the dialysis, I can only watch, and offer an occasional word of comfort. I can see it eating at him as he tries to comfort her. I watch him bury his face in his hands and sob. He told me when we first started dialysis that "She never wanted to be like this...", but here she is. His only companion, for these many years, and now...he's helpless...he's going to lose her. I gotta stop now. I gotta go cry.

Do it Bully! Cry!..After the short time seeing the stuff I did in the ems area..I understand. We get callus somehow, but still have feelings...self preservation I guess..and then one day something just pops and ya gotta let it out. It happened to me a few times.

[Abbey Marie]

That's so sad, Bully. Did you see the lyrics Dmp posted in the Sad Songs thread? They seem to fit here.

[JohnDoe]

That's so sad, Bully. Did you see the lyrics Dmp posted in the Sad Songs thread? They seem to fit here.

Gosh, this is sooooooooo sad.

I wonder if they ever were able to have children together and if so, where are they?

Damn, I just know that when either matt or me goes, we will be lost without the other, I pray we go together and he says the same....and we want our little kitty girl to go to my sister for her to take care of if we did go off, together.

When I was very young, I worked in a Hospital Blood Bank, Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, the 3-11:30 shift. I heard alot of stories from the nurses and techs that would come by to sign out the blood or plasma units for their patients, and went through many horror situations like a woman that went in for a T.O.P./an abortion, because of complications with her pregnancy, think it might have been an Ectopic pregnancy...(baby developing in the fallopian tubes)... started hemoraging...guess they cut something they should not have? ....but she ended up taking over 40 units of blood and a female may have only 6-8 in her full body....

The Medical technologist working the patient could not get enough time to cross match the patient with the blood units the operation room kept requesting for her and he ended up basically just giving her the same type blood only packed cells and then we ran out of packed cell blood units of her blood type and had to switch her to O negative (universal type blood)....

I had never prayed so hard in my life (until my best friend recently got Vaginal cancer, Stage 4), begged and begged and begged God to save her, I think the whole hospital staff felt the same way....we wanted her to live, she was too young to die.... She did live, they had to give her a total hysterectomy.

But after that....I knew I could no longer work there..... I couldn't do it anymore, I was unable to become unattached and it totally drained every inch of me working there....in the hospital blood bank...so I got a job working at John Elliot Community blood Center (blood bank) that supplied all the hospitals in Dade County with the Blood, which removed me from being directly involved with the patients and their "life stories"....

It takes a special person to be able to work with the sick and to be able to deal with the daily pain. God bless them all! It is truely a gift and a calling imho.

This Song from the sad song thread fits perfectly.

Beloved Wife- Natalie Merchant

You were the love
for certain of my life
You were simply my beloved wife
I don't how for certain
How I'll live my life
Now alone without my beloved wife
My beloved wife
I can't believe
I've lost the very best of me

You were the love
For certain of my life
You were simply my beloved wife
I don't know for certain
How I'll live my life
Now alone without my beloved wife
My beloved wife
I can't believe
I've lost the very best of me

You were the love
For certain of my life
For fifty years simply my beloved wife
With another love I'll never lie again
It's you I can't deny
It's you I can't defy
A depth so deep
Into my grief
Without my beloved soul
I renounce my life
As my right
Now alone without my beloved wife
My beloved wife

My beloved wife
My love is gone she suffered long
In hours of pain
My love is gone would it be wrong
If I should surrender
All the joy in my life
Go with her tonight

My love is gone she suffered long
In hours of pain
My love is gone would it be wrong
If I should surrender
All the joy in my life
Go with her tonight

[5stringJeff]

We've been doing hemodialysis on a little old lady in ICU who lost most of her small intestine (>80%) after it strangulated. This would be hard enough on someone much younger, but somehow she's still alive. Confused, in pain, trached and on a vent, and receiving total parenteral nutrition, anemic (I gave her 2 units of blood yesterday), jaundiced...but alive.

It's really painful to watch. She and her husband have been together for more than 60 years, and they've got no one but themselves. As I run the dialysis, I can only watch, and offer an occasional word of comfort. I can see it eating at him as he tries to comfort her. I watch him bury his face in his hands and sob. He told me when we first started dialysis that "She never wanted to be like this...", but here she is. His only companion, for these many years, and now...he's helpless...he's going to lose her. I gotta stop now. I gotta go cry.

Not sure how to reply... but the one bright thing in this scene is a loving husband.

[Dilloduck]

Not sure how to reply... but the one bright thing in this scene is a loving husband.

and the courage that some people have to actually FEEL the whole range of emotions that we are blessed with.

[Mr. P]

and the courage that some people have to actually FEEL the whole range of emotions that we are blessed with.

again and again.