One of my duties at work is to watch the heart monitors. We monitor them from Intensive Care. We have to change the batteries every couple of days. Monday night I went out to the med/surg floor to change a patient's battery. While I was at the nurses desk, a family member of a patient came up to the desk. He said his family member had quit breathing. The nurses went down to the room and a couple of minutes later, they came back crying. I asked what patient it was that had passed away. It was a patient we had taken care of in ICU and PCU(Progressive Care Unit). PCU is a step down unit from ICU. We had taken care of that particular patient for about three months. I went down to her room and offered my condolescences to the family. This patient had wanted to die for a really long time. She really had no quality of life. She had been paralyzed for about 23 years. But, I wasn't any less sad when I heard the news. I know that she's better off and is no longer in pain. But, my heart hurts for her family. She was only a couple of years younger than myself. When I went back to the units, I told everyone that she had passed away. Only two out of the five even acted like they cared. Five days a week for three whole months, we all took care of her. I cried all night long. I'm tearing up now as I'm writing this.
