Blessed

I think I was out of my patient’s room more than I was in my patient’s room today, which was quite the change of pace for me.  I fulfilled my normal "student nursing roles" while my patient just watched movies and rested.  He was very calm and seemed sad.  I could tell deep down he wanted to talk about his life, but it brought up emotions that he didn’t want to deal with.  His lip quivered.  I think he appreciated my presence, but wasn’t sure how much he wanted to say.  He eventually opened up a little bit as I just waited.  He talked about how his life used to be before he was homeless.  Over the course of our discussion, it broke my heart to hear about the changes that have occurred over the past few years.  Coming from a strong, loving, supportive family, it was hard for me to imagine what this guy has gone through.  Because of those situations, I am constantly reminded of how great my family is and how thankful I am for them.  As I told my patient goodbye, he told me goodbye in return and expressed how nice it was to talk to me that day.  I left his room with a heavy heart.  It is those type of patients that make me wish there was something that I could do, wishing I had a big house to give them a place to stay, “extra” money to put them through rehab, or just more time to sit and talk to them.  I left today feeling very blessed.