A favorite nursing moment
I'm not sure why, but I was thinking about this lady this morning. It was New Year's eve, 1999, and I was working the 11-7 shift. One of my patients was a very elderly lady, in with a URI, and not doing to well. She slept most of the time. When I went in to do my assessment, she woke up. She told me she was born in 1899, and knew she was probably dying. Her only wish was to see "2000". "Imagine, I will have lived in 3 different centuries!". Then she asked me to come in at midnight, so she would have someone to ring the New Year in with. I spoke with my charge nurse, and she immediately (bless her heart) doled out my other patients to other nurses for the first hour of the shift. My wonderful team mates took the added burden on without complaint. I sat with my patient, we had the tv on to watch the ball drop, and she talked to me of her family. She had out lived both children, two husbands and a grandchild. She told me she was anxious to see them again. At midnight I gave her a hug. "I made it," she said with a twinkle in her eye. I sat a bit longer until she fell into a peaceful sleep, then went back to work, checking on her frequently. She was in a peaceful sleep, breathing a little easier, a faint smile on her lips. At the end of my shift I went in to said goodbye. She was awake and motioned me closer. She kissed my cheek. "Thank you for spending this wonderful New Year with me". I smiled, and told her I'd see her tonight. When I came in at 10:30 that night, her room was empty. She has peacefully passed away around noon. I got a bit teary, but then thought about how she got what she wanted- to have been alive in 3 different centuries. I will never forget this lovely lady.
Bev
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