Diary of a Trauma Nurse

Saturday, May 27, 2006

YOUNG LOVE

As I got report about a new patient that had just come in I reflected on my life. Here was a 20 year old male on the brink death. I wondered about his family, his mother, his father. I wondered if he was married or had children. I prayed that I would never stand beside a bed and see my children here...........

When visitation opened, a very young, scared, and fragile looking girl walked up to the bedside. Immediately she started sobbing.......

Instinct kicked in and I started to explain the drips which ensured the patients did NOT feel pain, the monitors which were non-invasive and did not CAUSE pain. I explained that the dinging alarms only meant that his heart rate or blood pressure were outside of the limits set on the monitor and didn't necessarily mean that he was in distress or "crashing" as we call it in Trauma. This seemed to make the young girl feel better.

I knew from report that the patient had less than a 30% chance of survival but we'd also seen patients with less than 10% pull through so we continued to be positive and fight for this young man.

In a soft voice, almost a whisper, I heard the young girl say: "I wish we hadn't waited." I thought maybe she was talking to this young man who may have been her brother or her boyfriend, I didn't know. Then she repeated it. "I wish we hadn't waited." I turned to her and asked her what she waited for. As I turned, I immediately noticed that she had on a ring matching the young man's that was on his left hand. She proceeded to tell me that they had gotten married one week ago and they had waited to go on their honeymoon until payday....so they would have plenty of money. They were driving to their honeymoon destination when their accident occured. "We were childhood sweethearts. We always knew we would get married and spend the rest of our lives together. Whenever we went anywhere, I always told him to wear his seatbelt and he would" she told me. I nodded in agreement. "He didn't have his seatbelt on, I fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the SUV I was driving. He was thrown out of the vehicle. We rolled 7 times and he ended up on the other side of the highway. It's my fault." I heard this story time and again over the next week as we tried relentlessly to save this young man. I thought for sure that the love alone she had for her husband would be enough to keep him alive but despite modern medicine and the most technologically advanced medical center and the country's best doctors, the young man died from his massive head injuries.

It only takes a moment. Never take for granted today what you may not have tomorrow.

CoryTraumaRN posted today at 4:29 AM

Comments:

Even thought I have heard that story before, it's message really makes me thankful for every minute I spend with you. I love you Precious

# posted by

Mike : 7:49 AM

it's sort of like that poem i wrote...

"tomorrow isn't promised today..your life soon may slip away......"

i love you mommy!

<3 ashley

# posted by

Anonymous : 9:14 PM

What a sad situation! It must be very hard to have to deal with these types of things on a daily basis. I try to live each day as best I can because we can never expect tomorrow to be here..

# posted by

Unknown : 11:29 AM

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