The Nurse

As the alarm goes off on the switchboard for room 213, the only nurse on the floor is helping Mr. Harris to his room. Mr. Harris is an Alzheimer's patient who has a tendency to wander and who inevitably finds his way into some poor old lady's room calling, "Anne, Anne, the toilet's backed up again!" This always scares the dickens out of these old girls, and, as a result, the nursing staff (what little there is) is kept busy just trying to keep up with these elderly travelers.

The nurse hears the alarm beeping and sits the old man down softly in a nearby wheelchair with instructions not to move. She then goes off down the darkened hall, crepe shoes squeaking on the floor. The frazzled nurse thinks there are only six hours left until the end of her 12-hour shift. And being so shorthanded due to hospital cutbacks is really getting to employee morale. Tonight, for example, the other nurse slated for work on her shift is out on stress-leave, and the nurse who was to relieve that one has been called away to the emergency department, leaving her all alone to manage the floor.

She enters the darkened room to find Mrs. Hamilton in a panicked state. The old lady is having trouble breathing; her apparatus has fallen to the floor and she can't reach it. As the nurse gently places the mouthpiece on the struggling old lady's face, she rubs her back. The night is always the worst time for these old people; the blanket of darkness seems to advance their woes and fears. Sometimes they just want to talk, just to hear another voice confirming their ties to humanity. The endless drone of machines with its own twisted theme music can be overwhelming. Knowing this, the nurse tries to help soothe these fragile souls. This is the silent dignity nurses give. The midnight visits to calm frightened old men and women. The encouraging words and soothing touch given freely in the night. They have the ability to listen with interest while stifling the need to add stories of their own or giving postdated advice.

However, there is an exhausted mother of three underneath, and she is desperately tired tonight and seriously overworked. She leaves the room and returns to Mr. Harris. He has already walked down the corridor and is about to get in the elevator when she catches up to him.

"Where's Anne?" he demands. "The toilet is plugged again!"

She smiles and says "I know, Mr. Harris, she's fine! And the plumber is coming. Now let's get you back in your room to sleep, OK?"

They walk softly down the hall, the tired nurse helping the old man as the alarm starts to beep again. Six hours, she thinks. Six hours.

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