Spent some of angriest and most heartbreaking three and a half hours of my life today with my wife in the hospital. When I initially got there, she was in a full blown panic attack. They werent going to let me see her but after I explained the meaning of the song, Aint No Mountain High Enough in a manner that properly conveyed my determination, I was allowed in . They had been working with her for several hours but it took me less than a minute to calm her down. When she had returned from the regular hospital back to the psych hospital, some how her now gigantic list of medications had not been restarted. She was in agony with pain and in the start of some serious withdrawal symptoms. I corrected that issue. I guess one of the things they no longer teach in nursing schools is the power of the human touch. Ive noticed the same problem in medic training. The simple act of holding the hand of someone who is frightened and afraid will negate the use of a lot of force and sedation. I cant begin to tell you how many hands I have held in my lifetime. I have had the honor of holding the hand of a dying human and helped them make the transition from this life to their next destination many times. People ask how I am positive there is a God and I tell them I have felt Him take a hand from me and take a hurting soul home. Old, young, weak and strong, I felt them all relax when I held their hands because the power of one human touching another is so powerful. My wife was simply scared with no friendly faces in sight. A touch and a hug from ANYONE would have changed all of that. The human soul yearns to be loved and assured. I remember working the ER and having frantic and distraught mothers bring a screaming infant in saying they couldnt quiet the child. I would take it into my arms and begin to sway with it and sing to it and within minutes, it was sound asleep. Mom was putting out a frightened signal the baby picked up on and responded in kind. I was soft and relaxed and they surrendered to their exhaustion. Touch one another. Life is going by at an incredible pace and we all need assurance we are loved. Within five minutes, my wife had stopped shaking and crying and could tell me what was wrong quite rationally. I understand the issue in psych wards about touching and such as I worked in a maximum security prison psych ward with hard core prisoners. You need to set boundaries but you cant just shut off care and compassion... or least I couldnt. Long and agonizing story short, I will be bringing her home Monday, Tuesday latest after they make sure getting her restarted on her meds again comes off without a hitch. Before I leave there on that day, someone will hear me out. Bank on that fact. One last thing. If you are a nurse, an aide, or work with people in general, I hope you will take this lesson to heart. Your touch can be the most powerful drug on the planet to a frightened and struggling soul.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 06:41:18 +0000
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