When I went into work on monday I found out a resident who had been there long before I started working at the facility had passed away on Sunday. She was very loved by her family, her husband visited every day, doted on her. Her son came in to visit often, and was good at making arrangements for his mom and dad. On Sunday, shortly after putting the resident to bed one of the aids went and got the charge nurse to say she was looking funny. The charge nurse went down, the residents face was beat red. While standing there she stopped breathing, they grabbed the 02 saturation machine to make sure, sure enough the oxygen level in her blood was dropping and she wasn't breathing. The charge nurse ran to get the oxygen tank while the aids and another nurse brought the resident to the floor and started CPR (because the resident no longer had a pulse). 911 was called, and during the 15 minutes waiting for the paramedics to arrive, rib breaking cpr was performed. When the paramedics arrived they cut off her clothes, put iv's in her legs to give her meds to jumpstart her heart, and took over cpr. They took her to the ambulance and she died in route to the hospital. She died, clothes cut off, ribs broken, body soon to be bruised, iv's jammed everywhere at the age of 90. She had a stroke. I don't know if I could put my loved one through their last minutes of life in that fashion. This story has been on my mind since I heard it. It makes me sad, it makes me want to cry, it makes my heart break for her husband, who is bound to pass away not long from now do to the hearbreak of losing the love of his life.
Life is fragile.
Oh Angela, how sad! Her poor husband. And her poor frail body. I loved hearing the stories you told me about her. You have such a difficult job emotionally. I'm sorry. =(
ReplyDeleteHow sad, Angela! It just makes me realize how much heartbreak is in the world and makes me think about how many people are suffering from loss and sadness every day. Thanks for sharing your stories and thoughts with us.
ReplyDeleteThat's hard. I was really struck thinking about her last few minutes of life. It is such an indecent way to go. Thanks for sharing, and I'll be praying for the strength you need in your line of work.
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