The joy of saving lives

i saw a group of nurses today..in the train station..

and memories begin to play in my mind..

on September 2nd 2008..i walked into Sunway Medical Center..not as a patient, not as a visitor..but as a newly employed nurse..together with me..there were few more other new staffs as well..a psychologist,a couple of food and beverage staffs, business administration staff and a clerk..
as nervous as i was..i still manage to put on a smile..they brought us around for a tour in the whole hospital..which was quite big for out tiny minds..i was given 3 pairs of ORANGE over sized uniform..for those with colour blindness will recognize it as pink..

Ward 6b was where my destiny begun. Sister Yvonne painted a very beautiful picture about this ward and also the staffs. She handed me my locker key..and made sure my hair was tied up in a bun!! ..i was like oh shoots!!..my hair is already short enough..!! after destroying the structure of my hair..i now officially look like a pregnant aunty!!

so anyway..my first day at work..i was still a bit blur..i mean..i know I'm all the time blur..but this time..i was extra..
i learnt a lot of things..my main job was to answer call bells...
besides that, i have to fill in the water container and also the flask for new admissions, give orientation for them as well, bed making every 3p.m., tidy up the beds at 8 a.m., giving toilet baths, sponging, sending and collecting patients to the x-ray department,Operation Room(OR), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Dialysis Center, rehab room (physio) and also the cafeteria..
oh yeah..my last job would be to print stickers for all the patients..

on my first day i was under tagging...which means i have to follow a nurse...wherever she goes..whatever she does..
..i met this aunty..named Rukiah.. she just had a right leg operated and an iron rod was inserted in it.. i saw the pain in her eyes...i can't imagine the pain she was going through..
she was bedridden...and couldn't move an inch.. so we had to insert CBD..this is a tube with a bag in the end..
well..this was my first ever experience..seeing such procedures.. to be honest..i felt like throwing up...cause i kinda felt the pain..like someone punched me in the stomach..i can't really explain what i saw here..
i was kinda consoling myself..this is just the beginning..I'm sure I'll be able to overcome it soon..
she was admitted in the hospital for quite a long time...she could only hear one ear...and i liked her very much..
every time after we clean her..she would say 'terima kasih banyak-banyak'..or 'maaf ya' ...she was like repeating it soo many times...i was like..no no..it's ok..your not a burden to us..it is our job...and then i was really convinced..i was born to do nursing..

i liked what i was doing..it was so much better than working in an office..sitting in that not so comfortable chair..well..you do have friends there..but all they ever talk is about work!!..and the freaking computer is not network friendly..i cant go online!!..n i was sick of playing solitair..and minesweeper..i couldn't wait to come back home..

well..i didn't have much friends in the hospital.. i find it hard to talk to strangers...i'm a bit reserved i guess..so i was all by myself..at the beginning...
but as time goes by..i met quite a lot of patients,visitors and colleague that made a difference in my life in one way or another..
my closest friend was sharifah(20 year old engaged)..yeah i couldnt believe it either.. pierre (a student male nurse from kenya)..one of the sweetest friend, christina, tin, nalini, anna, ho, loo, tan, ngu, tong, cheah, felis, kavita, jeya, grace, vasan, joginder, azura, suzanna, isabella, meetha, nisha, prema, sharan.. wow...thats it i guess...oh yeah..and all the student nurses both from sunway college and nilai international college... these people made me break my hard shell...and come out from my hiding place..i owe them one!

back to my story..
there was another grandma admitted...she had the same name as me!! ..unfortunately it was a Chinese name..sadly..
she couldn't talk and was bed ridden as well.. i didn't really like her daughter..she always looked down on us..cause we are not really the educated nurse..so every time we enter she'll be like..'i want the green nurse!' ...i will just show my sweet smile..hoping to melt her..unfortunately it only work for guys..=p
anyway,every time they will request for morning sponging..(usually sponging is done at 6am) ..that means if I'm working in the morning shift..i will have to do the sponging for her..and that's how i become friends with their maid..she will be the one helping me..
and then it was time for the grandma's discharge..kinda happy..cause i didn't have to meet her daughter again..
it was her last sponging that day..and just as i was about to leave..she held my hand..and looked deep into my eyes..i read her message and almost teared..gosh..if only the maid wasn't there i would have given her hug!!...

and then...
one night, as i was done with my shift, my friends and i were waiting for the lift..after a while..the door open..a stroller was pushed out of the lift..together with a middle aged couple.. on the stroller..was a guy..i was like..wow..'kinda cute'.. wonder whats wrong with him..
so the next day, i was working evening shift again...i found out his name, it was Murali aged 21..and there was a call bell from his room..so i went in..he said he wanted a blanket..
i got him a blanket..and as i was covering him..i realize he had only one leg!!..i was like shoots..i tried my best to look normal..his other leg was bandaged..
i felt very sorry for him..he never smiled...he never talked..i can see that he was depressed..later i found out that he was a third year engineering student..yeah damm!!..he needed sponging as well..as he was a guy...it was normal for him to feel shy around me.. so i always ask Pierre's help.. Pierre and me will be making jokes around him..and that's where i first saw him smile.. and after that..he started talking normally..he always made fun of my Tamil..well i don't blame him la..my Tamil is bad!!..we became kinda close..he stayed there for like a month plus..and when he was about to discharge..we were actually wishing that he wouldn't go..surely we are going to miss him!! but he never forgotten us..every time he has his appointment..he visits us..

lau moi, was an old grandma aged 75. She was admitted due to brain damage which was caused by the stroke she had a few years back. Her whole body was paralyzed. She can't walk, she can't talk and she can't even smile. Swallowing was definitely a no no for her. So we had to feed her through the tube connected from her nose all the way into her stomach. This type of feeding is called NGT feeding. She was admitted for about 2 weeks. Then one day, all her oxygen level, pulse rate, blood pressure begin to drop tremendously. Her children panicked and wanted to discharge her immediately. Just as i was beginning to proceed the discharge, the was no more oxygen, no more pulse rate or blood pressure. She passed away just like that. I couldn't believe it. it's as if i was electrocuted. I stood still and was speechless. i controlled my tears, as i saw her daughters and sons were crying uncontrollably. Since she died in my shift, we had to sponge her. I was new so i had 2 more nurses assisting me. Actually i didn't do anything. I just stood there starring at the deceased. And as they were sponging, they were speaking to her..as if she was alive. they were like 'sorry ar aunty' ...i was getting suspicious..and then Grace explained to me that when a person dies their hearing sense will be the last sense to leave the body. That means when one has just died, he or she still has the ability to hear. i was like..'ohh ok'..i had trouble sleeping that night!..'phew'...

This is one of the day in my life where i will never forget. It was a Saturday and sister Yvonne asked whether i could work do double shift that day...well i can't say no..so i said YES!!..
Uncle Kim Yong was admitted in room 611. Both him and his wife are very friendly. There was a call bell from his room. I went in..he was wearing an oxygen mask with a syringe pump and inside it was penicillin pethidine. He told me that can't breathe. I was worried and rushed to the nurses' counter and informed them there. About a second after that, his wife came running and told us he really can't breathe this time. All the nurses rushed to his room at that moment. Nobody was at the counter, so i decided to stay there. After a while, i went to the room. i heard one of the nurses shouting 'Uncle!!!!'..CAN YOU HEAR ME??... i went inside..saw him lying with his eyes open, his face blue black. The nurses were carrying out cardio pulmonary resuscitation(CPR) on him. I wished there was something i could do to help. i went back outside and saw his wife. she was reciting her prayers. I didn't know what to tell her..for i myself didn't know what was happening. The emergency button was pushed. The announcer announced 'CODE BLUE IN WAD 6B' ...after that all the doctors and nurses came running in!! it was A CHAOS!! ...machines were brought in!! ICU staffs were there. About half an hour after that, the doctor came out. I was so relieved. According to him if we were at least 5 mins late he would have died. I just stood there thanking God..!! this uncle was actually allergic to penicillin..hmmm

wow...this is like really long..hehe
well..guess i have to stop hear now..though i have a lot more to write..=(
anyway i will like to conclude by saying that
THE BEAUTY OF LIFE DOES NOT DEPEND ON HOW HAPPY YOU ARE BUT ON HOW HAPPY OTHERS CAN BE BECAUSE OF YOU!