Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Blast from the Past

I recently took care of a young woman who was a Cervidil induction on the night shift for "postdates." When I first entered the room she looked familiar and I commented on that and she smiled and told me that I had taken care of a family member of hers and she translated for us. I told her thank you again for translating! Even though we have to use a hospital translator for the official business it sure is nice when non-English speaking patients have a translator with them. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. I went on with my assessment, putting in her INT, etc without a second thought...

A few hours later on one of my visits to her room her family was there visiting. They had an infant with them that smiled at me and several of them said things along the lines of "do you remember her?" Right. Like I'm going to recognize a baby 3 or 6 or 9 months or more after I circulate the delivery. They must think I'm amazing! :) I smiled at all of them, cooed at the baby and went to my other patient's room, again without a second thought.

About 10 minutes later it hits me. This family member was not just "any patient." I SHOULD remember the situation. The mother of that infant was not one of the several young women in there but the older woman sitting in the chair, the one with chronic hypertension among other risk factors. The one who PPROM-ed and hung out with us for a week or two. The one I was taking care of when she suddenly complained of being blind. The one who's pressures were fine for her at that time without headache, brisk reflexes or other symptoms. The one who's eyes tracked a pen light. The one who went into preterm labor and delivered a few hours later. The one who convinced her nurse that she truly was blind but we could not convince the doctor that night. The one who ended up with a postpartum hemorrhage and went to ICU where she spent several days on all kinds of medication trying to figure out why the frig she was blind??? She can see now thank God. I went back down there and gave her a hug and told her that YES, I did remember that little girl after all.

3 comments:

pinky said...

Sh!t

slh35661 said...

I seem to have these former patients ask me if I remember them. Though I would love to think that I could remember all of them, I have to be realistic. They are very pregnant, edematous, wearing hospital gowns when I take care of them in the hospital. When I see them in Wal-Mart several months or years later they are slim and trim, hair and make-up on, and dressed in street clothes. So I know why it takes our brains a few minutes to process even the ones we think we should never have forgotten. Our brain has to dredge up memories that have been filed away.
This is my first visit to your blog. Good read. Thanks.

Prisca: said...

Wow, isnt it weird to see those types of patients alive and well later? It freaks me out!

 
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