Pain – defined as the physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury has been apart of my experience when dealing with terminally ill patients and my own parents.
As a nurse understanding how to deal with pain, death, and the dying process is extremely difficult and you are always met with the worst sensation in knowing that your patient is in so much pain that there is nothing that you can do to stop it.
I recall the many nights when my patients were in so much discomfort that a standard Tylenol 3 pill would not provide any relief.
I would regularly advice our doctors to provide more pain relief medication, but I was always told to simply rotate the medication with Motrin. Quite often death seemed like the only time when these patients were finally free from the constant agonizing pain.
As I transitioned later in my career to a nursing home, I began to speak with many lonely and frightened patients. Many of whom would ask questions like, “why does my family want me to have further surgeries or treatment when I’ve lived my life” and “why couldn’t they leave me home to die in my own bed.” As troublesome as those questions might sound at times, I understood their situation. I saw when family members would come to the nursing home and have to force feed their loved ones or when family …show more content…
My dad after a horrific fall suffered severe brain damage which resulted in him living in a group home for many years. After a sudden night he began to experience abdominal issues, which led my sister and I to take him to the hospital. There we were told that he needed exploratory surgery to find where the infection was stemming from. My dad was surprisingly calm, he took our hands and said he didn’t need any surgery, he knew his time was up. After five days of tormenting pain, my father passed
As a nurse understanding how to deal with pain, death, and the dying process is extremely difficult and you are always met with the worst sensation in knowing that your patient is in so much pain that there is nothing that you can do to stop it.
I recall the many nights when my patients were in so much discomfort that a standard Tylenol 3 pill would not provide any relief.
I would regularly advice our doctors to provide more pain relief medication, but I was always told to simply rotate the medication with Motrin. Quite often death seemed like the only time when these patients were finally free from the constant agonizing pain.
As I transitioned later in my career to a nursing home, I began to speak with many lonely and frightened patients. Many of whom would ask questions like, “why does my family want me to have further surgeries or treatment when I’ve lived my life” and “why couldn’t they leave me home to die in my own bed.” As troublesome as those questions might sound at times, I understood their situation. I saw when family members would come to the nursing home and have to force feed their loved ones or when family …show more content…
My dad after a horrific fall suffered severe brain damage which resulted in him living in a group home for many years. After a sudden night he began to experience abdominal issues, which led my sister and I to take him to the hospital. There we were told that he needed exploratory surgery to find where the infection was stemming from. My dad was surprisingly calm, he took our hands and said he didn’t need any surgery, he knew his time was up. After five days of tormenting pain, my father passed