Miracles...

OK, Tiffany talked me into it. Ready for a miracle? On Monday one of my residents was suddenly very sick. I couldn't tell if she was just sick or really dying. I contacted her son, had her admitted to hospice, and monitored her condition, which remained stable. However, she declined very quickly overnight, and I could tell on Tuesday that she didn't have much time left. I called her son, sick at the thought that he might not make it from Illinois in time to be with her before she passed. He said that he wouldn't be able to make it until Wednesday. After talking to him, I went into my resident's room. At this point she was breathing very shallowly and was unresponsive. They say, though, that people in that condition can still hear, so I told her that her son would be there the next day and that if she wanted to she him, she should wait to go. I left at 4, not knowing what would happen, but praying that he would make it in time, that she would live just a bit longer. On Wednesday when I got to work, I learned that she had passed away at 2:00 in the morning...but after a string of miracles, her son had made it just in time! He came straight from the airport and she died a few short hours later. How grateful I am for answered prayers and the miracles that I see almost daily at work! What a blessing it is to work where I do...

Get it?

I witnessed a few small miracles during the last 24 hours and I need to share them! Actually, as I'm thinking about it...I'm not sure that a blog is the right place for them. Hmmm....Nope! Not right now. Instead, I'll share a funny story from work. So, I take Keena in every now and then for "pet therapy" but mostly because I like having her at work with me. The last time I took her in, I reassured the residents that "she hasn't bitten a single person". From the back row came the quip, "What about all of us married folk?" LOL!!! It took me about 3 minutes to figure out that what the resident said was SUPER FUNNY!

Strange.

Something strange happened at work today. One of my residents was looking out the office window for the bus, and I walked up to her with my arms out for a hug. Now, this lady loves hugs. Always, if I've had to do something to her that she doesn't like (trim her toenails, let the foot doctor power-tool her toenails, etc), if I just hug her when she's mad, she gets a smile on her face and all is forgiven. Today I hadn't done anything "mean" to her, so I expected a hug, an "oh honey", and a kiss on a cheek. I went in open-armed and super vulnerable for the hug and...she whacked me! And this wasn't a single-armed whack. She used both! Shocked but smiling, I backed off. There's one thing at work that I'm sure of--I can never be sure of anything! But I love what I do. Every day is a surprise...

oops.

Pretty sure I forgot about this blog for a few days. :) So, last night I got to take one of my residents to the wedding pictures/ring ceremony/reception of her granddaughter. This isn't something I normally do, and probably shouldn't--sooo much liability when I have a resident in my car--but this family needed me, and I love them...Turns out that it wasn't a hard decision to make. I LOVED THE EXPERIENCE! I could tell that it meant so much to everyone to have this resident there, and she spent the three hours out of the facility smiling (she doesn't usually smile that much in one stretch). I don't know that she recognized anyone, but I think she could feel the love that the people around her have for her. The opportunity that I had to witness that was such a gift.
Recently I've been analyzing myself and my life a bit, and I've come to the conclusion that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY JOB!!! I would do it even if there wasn't a paycheck involved. I'm so lucky, right? Blessed, really. How many people can wake up in the morning excited to do whatever it is they've got ahead of them?