This scenario is different.
Hemiplegic. Aphasic. Discharged. Alone.
Every word has a meaning.
Hemiplegic. Aphasic.
The man had recently arrived from overseas and was a transfer from another hospital that was discharged. He had suffered a stroke in the past and as a result he was aphasic and hemiplegic on the left side with right sided weakness from a new stroke. To be exact, he had expressive aphasia. He was able to comprehend anything anyone said to him if spoken in a slow manner. He would become frustrated when trying to communicate his needs because it was so difficult. Can you imagine having every sentence and thought formed inside your head but not being able to express it to someone else? It would rip you apart inside.
Discharged. Alone.
This man was discharged from the hospital and his discharge plan was left completely in his hands. This is the reason why he sat in a chair helpless overnight and crying when people realized he was there. He did not have family or friends around to help him go home. What happened to the nurse involved in his care?
As a nurse, I was trained to advocate for my patients. I am my patient's voice when they're weak and unable to speak. I am their healthy body during their time of illness. I do for them what they cannot for themselves. I am their spokesperson and cheerleader until they can stand on their own two feet and go home and care for themselves. I don't understand what happened in this situation.
I remember my grandfather when he was dying... I wanted to be his lungs, I wanted to be his body, I wanted to take that pain away and endure it for him. Hearing this story, I wanted to be that person for this man, I wanted to suffer the worst so he would be happy and unscarred from what had happened to him. I wish this never happened to him. The emotional toll that this experience took is unfair. It was unjustly inflicted by those who SHOULD recognize when someone needs assistance... this is the worst part.
A tray was left for this man, however none of the staff members witnessed him eating, nor realized that he needed assistance eating. This breaks my heart. Can you imagine someone leaving food in front of you and you are unable to move any extremity nor say you need help. He was probably so hungry that the food was just taunting him by being there. Can't the other person who is completely capable and is there to CARE, simply take 15 minutes to just feed you? People waste 15 minutes all the time surfing Facebook, twitter, playing candy crush...Can't even a good Samaritan just feed this man in those 15 minutes? This kind of careless, heartless behavior upsets me to no end.
Can you imagine it being you? Your brother, your father, your mother, your sister, your grandparent? Your child? Put yourself into the situation.
Put this man on the street, and the scenario changes once again. It would be understood if people completely ignored him; people do it every day in New York City. We ignore the homeless for fear they may be falsely displaying their disposition or believing they should just get a job and stop begging. Or regular people on the street just don't want to be bothered to deal with him. People are selfish, as a baseline. It is so rare to find caring people. In the hospital, this should be expected. People are there to care for others, so what happened here? This is a failure of health care and I hope it doesn't happen again. If only people were a little less selfish, this would not have happened. Maybe the care giver in his case wanted to go home early, maybe they didn't want to be bothered to make a phone call to social work, maybe they were afraid of more work they would put on their own plate. I don't know what the reason is but this should not have happened in the first place. God bless his soul and I wish this would never happen to those who are in need.
No comments:
Post a Comment