At 3am a resident in end stage kidney failure begins to put her call-light on. She asks, "Do you see that man in plaid over there? He's on the ceiling. I want him to go away, please make him go away." When I tell her that I don't see anyone, she insists that he is there. "See?" she says, while pointing up. Is it a hallucination or could she be seeing someone? I do believe that people can see loved ones when their time is near, perhaps to help guide them home? In any case, I've seen too much evidence of angels not to believe. (That's another post). Because the man in plaid refused to leave,(who says dead men don't wear plaid?) we brought Theresa up to the nurses station to stay with us. She instantly relaxed and fell asleep. The rest of the shift passed quickly and without incident. That is until I walked out the door.
It was a winter wonderland. The storm was still in full force and although I was exhausted, the beauty of the sheer force of mother nature was undeniable. Then I looked over to where my truck was parked & saw a white mound. Awe of mother nature was replaced with cursing. After spending 15 minutes digging it out I could not open the doors, they were frozen shut. I just want to go home and sleep after a 12 hour shift. After finally breaking into my truck, I turned on the ignition. YES! It started, bed here I come!! ....I wish. That truck would not move an inch forwards or in reverse. I was stuck. Too aggravated to try anymore & afraid I might cry if I went inside and asked for help, I decided to walk home. Of course I wasn't dressed to be walking in a blizzard, but adrenaline is a wonderful thing. After a 25 minute trek (with one quick stop in a donut shop to buy coffee/donuts for Mike & the kids) I got home & finally flopped into bed.:::singing::: "Sleep in heavenly peace.."
The weatherman was wrong on his prediction of 18" of snow. We got almost 3 feet, 34" to be exact. School is closed again tomorrow...
5 comments:
I could feel those tears!!! Glad you made it to your nice warm snug bed!
Monica
I just began reading your jnl and I love it. My Dad ( who is 84) hallucinates when taking new med's ie: narcotics
Ah, my car is still stuck, parallel parked right behind a 4-foot-tall drift of snow. I can't imagine what your house looks like!
Jeanne
The man who said, "Dead men don't wear plaid" is the same one who proclaimed, "White men can't jump," I believe. Maybe he was a used car salesman leading the hallucinating woman to the deal of a lifetime!
Hello songbird, I've read through your posts all the way to your kid singing "I yub you...". You have adorable kids and an adoring husband who surprises you with date night, you are so lucky! Sorry about your brother, hopefully this christmas is the season when his hardened heart will thaw. Mother to three and a nurse too, wow. My imaginary hat is off to you.
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