Capturing the Moment...

I wonder how many people I've met in my life....

Most of them haven't had the impact on me that my parents, children and former husband have. Many of them are nameless faces in my head. Others are names and faces I will never forget, I hope.

I was trying to guesstimate today: how many people do I interact with in a normal work day? And, after careful consideration, I decided that it's probably two dozen people, at a minimum. That's a lot of people to meet, and try to remember.

I have been known to scribble names all over my patients' charts, so I don't forget the family members and caregivers. And I have seen people smile broadly when their name was remembered. That's important to me: remembering the names and faces of the key players in my patients' lives.

Working in home health, I have found that I need those folks, and their help, in caring for the patients. I try to form an alliance, of sorts, with the patient and family. Then we can all work together to reach the patient's goals.

I was thinking about all this after seeing a particular patient this morning and then, of course, hearing a song on the radio. It's that windshield time: it gives me time to ponder the mysteries of life. Or, my life anyway.

So, this morning I discharged a patient from home health services. He is a pleasant man, in his late sixties or early seventies. He has done well, and recovered nicely from the illness that necessitated home health nursing services. It was all very ordinary and rote: ”call your doctor if you have a temperature >100.5, difficulty breathing, chest pain, lightheadedness.......Take your medications as ordered by your doctor, and keep all doctor appointments.... yada yada yada.

I do it every day. It is the ending moment of the last visit. I ask if there are any questions and, if there are, I do my best to answer them. But this was different: he looked at me, and put out his hand, to shake mine. “Don't forget me....” he said, almost plaintively.

And there it was: a moment. Captured in my mind. And a lesson, too. I have always appreciated my patients for their kindnesses, and the lessons they have taught me. And yet, this person wanted to stay in my memories. “Don't forget me.” That's heavy.

Moments in time. Captured forever. Or not. They happen every day. Several times every day, actually. And, in the end, we have a cloth, woven carefully, with threads made of all those moments in time, captured throughout our years on this little blue ball.

They're called Life.....