Rest In Peace
This week was the most taxing week of my nursing career thus far, and hands down, today was the worst day I have ever had working as a nurse. I literally saw my young patient slowly deteriorate, herniate, and eventually end up brain dead. The slow changes in my patient's pupils, the look in his father's eyes, the heart wrenching wail of his mourning mother...I can not seem to get them out of my head. In nursing school, they told us we would encounter moments like these. But no amount of verbal preparation seems sufficient when these events unfold in real time. I only spent three long days with the patient and his family, and yet, I felt so much pain today. The mother literally sobbing in my arms, asking me "how could this be?" What reply could I give her? What solace could I give her except the warmth of my arms, and the silent translation that I too, felt her loss. How could I explain to the dad that his son was never going to wake up? How could I tell them th