善有善報(bào)

It was nine o’clock pm and I was walking briskly out of 1）Recovery Room， knowing I had to be back the next day at six am. Though in a hurry， I 2）surveyed the family waiting room to see if there were any visitors who needed help after the 3）patient representative had gone home. I immediately noticed a lone woman with an anxious look on her face. As it turned out， her daughter-in-law had just been transferred to 4）Intensive Care. Instead of waiting for one of our transporters， I decided to take her up myself. As we headed down the hall， she stated： “I bet you’re trying to leave， aren’t you？” I affirmed her observation. I added that， it was quite all right. We arrived at the particular ICU where her daughter-in-law was transferred， and upon talking with the patient’s 5）RN， I was able to let her in right away. She turned to me and said： “Thank you； you will be blessed.”

The next day， on my way home after my day shift， I noticed a voice mail from my sister in 6）Rochester， New York. I had just been back about a week after visiting our mother for her ninety-sixth Birthday. She suffered a 7）TIA during her party， so noticing the voicemail from my sister， gave me an uneasy feeling. I had to pull off the road as I listened to her message；“Mom had a stroke； she’s in the hospital and the 8）Neurologist said it doesn’t look good.” My mind darted back to the words I had heard the night before as I cried out with angry 9）cynicism；“This is a blessing？”

The following day I flew up to Rochester， and on the flight up I thought of how many times I had taught the stroke 10）segment in 11）A.C.L.S. classes. The video had a happy ending； but my mother’s stroke was not witnessed， so that ending wasn’t going to be hers.

My brother picked me up from the airport and we soon arrived at the hospital. I walked into my mom’s room and saw my mother as I had never seen her before. Her usual bright smile was replaced with a look of emptiness. All at once the cruel reality of the signs and symptoms of a fresh stroke were there， but I wasn’t the instructor， I was just a family member.

My mom seemed to recognize me， and I fought back tears as I told her how much I loved her. Then one of the nurses came in to check her vital signs. She smiled warmly， and slowly told my mom what she was doing， all the time looking directly at her.

Over the next five days， my mom made unexpected progress， as she gained limited use of her right side and began to speak a few words， slowly and almost painfully. With each milestone， it seemed the nurses and aides were almost as excited as we were. Everyone， without exception， treated my mom with kindness and 12）compassion. Every time my mom was turned or assisted to the 13）recliner， I quickly assessed the skin 14）integrity of her back. Each time， I smiled as I noted the absence of even a trace of skin breakdown.

I think the event that will stay in my memory forever occurred on my mom’s fourth day. It was time to repeat the swallowing study to assess if my mom could start eating. All four of us 15）siblings hung together in the waiting room， nervous， our eyes shifting constantly to the door of 2607， anticipating and desperately hoping for good news. As her door opened， the 16）therapist came out with a smile so radiant； we instantly knew she had good news， and we 17）collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Five days after her stroke， my mom was ready for transfer to a 18）rehabilitation facility， and I was headed back down South. With a very heavy heart， I said goodbye to my mom and the staff from the Stroke Unit.

On the way back home， I had plenty of time to think about my own experiences as a Recovery Room nurse. I could envision the smiles on so many of the faces of our patients as they leave our unit. Many of our patients and their families take our hand and hug us as they are headed out the door. I was also reminded of the fact that we as health care givers have a certain power and a responsibility. We can add to the stress of a patient’s hospital experience， or we can be the one ray of sunshine that leaves a smile on their face.

Truly， there will always be the pain of knowing that my mom had a stroke， but my memories will always be tempered by the thoughtful care she received in that Stroke Unit. I have since reflected on the words of gratitude spoken to me a week earlier by the visitor I took to the ICU. Yes， I was blessed； it wasn’t a material one， but it was the kind of blessing that will warm my heart forever.

晚上九時(shí)，我快步從康復(fù)室走出，心想著第二天早上六點(diǎn)要回來。盡管時(shí)間匆忙，我還是去家屬候診室看看有沒有來訪者需要幫助，因?yàn)榛颊叽硪呀?jīng)回家了。我旋即留意到有一名女子獨(dú)自一人，神情焦慮。后來發(fā)現(xiàn)，原來她的兒媳剛被轉(zhuǎn)去了重癥護(hù)理。與其等我們交班的人過來，我決定親自帶她過去。當(dāng)我們往大堂方向走去時(shí)，她說：“我想你一定是正準(zhǔn)備下班離開的，對(duì)吧？”我對(duì)她的觀察表示肯定，并說了句沒關(guān)系。我們來到了她兒媳被轉(zhuǎn)移到的那間重癥護(hù)理室。我與病人的注冊(cè)護(hù)士溝通過后，這位女士得以立刻進(jìn)去。她轉(zhuǎn)過頭來對(duì)我說：“謝謝，善有善報(bào)?！?/p>

第二天，在我交班后回家途中，我發(fā)現(xiàn)有來自我那住在紐約羅徹斯特的姐姐的語音郵件。大約一周前我才剛參加完母親的96歲生日會(huì)回來。母親在生日會(huì)曾出現(xiàn)過小中風(fēng)的癥狀，所以發(fā)現(xiàn)我姐的語音郵件時(shí)，我頓感不安。我得把車停靠在路邊來聽這段語音信息?！皨寢屩酗L(fēng)了，現(xiàn)在在醫(yī)院，神經(jīng)科醫(yī)生說她情況不妙。”我的思緒立刻回到昨晚所聽到的那句話上來，不禁忿忿地沖口而出：“這就是善有善報(bào)？”

隔天我飛去羅徹斯特，在飛機(jī)上我想起自己在美國(guó)學(xué)術(shù)團(tuán)體委員會(huì)的學(xué)習(xí)班上曾無數(shù)次教授關(guān)于中風(fēng)那部分內(nèi)容的情形。視頻的結(jié)尾是大團(tuán)圓結(jié)局，然而我母親中風(fēng)時(shí)沒人目睹當(dāng)時(shí)的情況，因此那樣的歡樂結(jié)局不屬于她。

我的哥哥從機(jī)場(chǎng)接我，我們很快就到了醫(yī)院。我走進(jìn)母親的房間，看著我母親的樣子，一臉的陌生。……