Bill was miserable in ICU at the hospital. They put a mitt on his right hand to keep him from tugging at all that was plugged into him to deal with the stroke that had paralyzed his left side.
Unable to speak much, he kept trying to get the mitt off. His wife said he even tried using his teeth. Everyone told him he had to leave it alone. He kept trying.
Days later, he was moved to continuing care, still hopelessly doing everything he could to remove the mitt. That evening, nurse “Susan” arrived. She had started her shift and was assessing her patients. Groaning, Bill waved his right hand. Then tried desperately to press the mitt against the bed to remove it. No luck.
Susan saw how distressed he was. She assessed him completely. Noting that he no longer had all that ICU had plugged into him, she said: “There’s nothing left that you can tug at and remove, so let’s remove this mitt. It isn’t needed anymore.”
When she removed the mitt, Bill looked her in the eyes and said, loud and clear, “Bless You!” His whole body relaxed.
What can you assess with fresh eyes? Is there something you can do to ease a situation?
