The Good Nurse
Our dialysis story — chapter 28
Of course, there’s more than one good nurse. But K is by far our favorite of the dialysis nurses. She’s also the happiest — the one who truly loves her job and patients. She is always smiling, always cheerful.
K is often Ben’s dialysis nurse, but she isn’t always the one who comes to retrieve him from the lobby, nor is she the one who escorts him to the lobby after dialysis. Until this week, I rarely saw her.
The lady who used to sit at the front desk is gone — quit, fired, I don’t know which, but she’s been absent for three weeks with no one in her place. Are they looking to hire someone? I assume so.
Monday afternoon, I saw K on the other side of the front desk plexiglass window. She was signing supply orders. I asked why she was there. She flashed her wide, bright smile and laughed:
Well, somebody’s got to do it! I know what to do, so I offered to fill in. Eleven hours as a nurse and another hour as a secretary. Living the dream!
K arrives at the center at 4:30 a.m. After eleven hours of nursing, she spends an hour doing the center’s paperwork — three days a week.
That’s the kind of person she is — someone who gets stuff done.
I was relieved she was there so we could discuss Ben’s most recent nighttime bleeding issue.
She said:
It’s so strange because he isn’t one of our bleeders. Some patients spurt blood as soon as the needles come out. But not him. So it’s odd that he bleeds at night.
She went on to explain a couple of possible explanations for the bleeding. Then said:
I don’t think any of those reasons apply to Ben. His arm was very traumatized, but it’s healing. Hopefully, the more it heals, the less bleeding there’ll be. Plus, now that he only comes twice a week, his arm will have more time to rest. I think that will help.
Tell us when he bleeds at home, whether it’s a lot of blood or a little bit. Always remember that elevation and pressure are key to stopping the bleeding. If the bleeding doesn’t stop after 20 minutes of elevation and pressure, take him to an emergency center.
I promise I’ll keep a close eye on him. Meanwhile, he can keep our bandages on all night, but he should take them off right after getting up. Let us know if he bleeds in the morning, but I doubt that will happen.
You’re doing a good job of taking care of him. He told me today about everything you did for him Friday night. You have good instincts. I wish all of our patients had someone at home like you.
Not once did she say it’s normal. I am so sick of hearing it’s normal.
I also appreciated her saying that I’m doing a good job taking care of Ben. Rarely do I hear that from anyone other than Ben and my Medium friends.
Ben kept on his Monday bandages until Tuesday morning and had no bleeding when they were removed. I was so relieved.
K may not be the only good nurse, but she is definitely the best nurse, and I am so grateful for her.
© Dennett 2023
Our Dialysis Stories:
