Thursday, July 19, 2007

learning anything ?

I've been searching for anything I've learned from this experience as a patient after 27 years in nursing.

First of all, I've met very few nurses. And they have flitted through without making any impression.

The physicians, in general, have been wonderful. Now I chose them carefully, with access to inside information most people don't have. And I managed them carefully. Still, the surgeon, the radiation oncologist, and the medical oncologist have been heroes. They assessed my mood carefully, responded thoughtfully to questions, and gave me plenty of time. When I asked for their recommendations they gave them and their rationale (they all know more about this shit than I do).

But the two people who stand out in my mind are techs. Barb massaged my back as I laid face down on the table with an unseen someone inserting wires into my breast. I swear I would have pulled back and run without her help. And Scott who chatted softly as I was scanned and tried to hold still as the machine swooped over me.

I wonder if I have ever given anyone what they have given me.

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