The other day, I was caring for a
patient who had just been admitted to the hospital for fainting spells. Now, normally there are a whole onslaught of
tests performed to diagnose the cause of those types of occurrences; however,
for this woman the troublemaker made itself clearly known. She had a very, very bad heart. Simply sitting up in bed was an effort that
sent her heart racing and left her breathless.
Putting a stethoscope to her chest scarred me. As I listened, I could hear the heart
struggling to push and the immediate regurgitation of that blood back to where
it had come from, “woosh, woosh, woosh.”
How this woman lived and functioned at home, I can’t even imagine.
As I assisted her with her
belongings and oriented her to her new surroundings, she told me her
story. She talked of being in and out of
UCLA hospital for years with her heart condition. Told me of the struggle to be independent and
how her limitations impacted her life.
Then she paused, causing me to look up straight into her calm eyes. “I know, I can see it in you. You know my Savior. He’s the reason I’m still here and he’s the
only hope I cling to.” I was stunned and
felt tears welling up in my eyes. This
woman, who had gone through so much, was so attuned to the Lord and His plan
that she was ministering to me even amidst her occasional gasps for
breath. We ended up talking for a while
longer and prayed together before I had to finish up the rest of my work in
preparation for the change in shift. She
had such a big heart, literally (she had severe cardiomegaly) and
figuratively. Her contentment and joy
despite her condition astounded me.
Sometimes, I look at my own life
and wish for trials such as hers if only to develop the wisdom and heart knowledge
she had of the Lord. Granted, I stub my
toe and I’m libel to start complaining, but my heart yearns for the depth of
relationship with God that woman clearly portrayed and the selflessness to
think of others despite being a patient herself. There’s so much for me to learn, yet each
stride reveals more and more my intense need for God. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, “Man approaches God
most nearly when he is in a sense least like God.”
Nursing holds many surprises and is
a constant learning experience, but I treasure the lessons of the heart the
most. I’m incredibly thankful for all
the fellowship with hospitalized believers and the opportunities to share in
the heartaches and pains of others. Each
patient, each person, presents an opportunity to share God’s incredible
love. My prayer is that He works through
me even when words are scarce or when I’m intimidated. My prayer is that God transforms my heart
into a reflection of His own. My prayer
is for figurative cardiomegaly.
Thank you Lord, for the privilege
of being a nurse.
Medical Morales to Remember:
- · Cardiomegaly – enlarged heart
- o Reverseable in some cases
- o May be caused by many different conditions including cardiomyopathy, high blood pressure, myocardial infarctions (Heart attacks), chronic anemia, and thyroid problems to name a few
- · Common signs and symptoms – shortness of breath, tachycardia, chest pain, dizziness, syncope, edema
- · Cardiomyopathy – heart muscle disease
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment! Please consider following Nurseables on Facebook or Twitter so that you don't miss any of the tales!