I live in WA, so this is news
This post accompanied by a photo of a nurse crying.
Alisha Burnett
April 19 at 2:59 PM
Dearest Senator Walsh,
I know, I know. You may be shocked that I wasn’t playing cards here. Instead, I sat in this trashed aircraft and wept for the 28 year old life that was just lost. I mourned for the young patient who begged me to save them; asked me to make sure he didn’t die.
I held his hand. I started oxygen on him. I watched the life leave his eyes as my partner drew up the drugs to allow us to take over his entire respiratory drive. I passed a tube through his vocal cords and silently begged something greater than us to help us save his life.
Then I pressed on his chest as tears rolled down my face. I pumped his heart as best I could from the force of my own arms since his body was no longer doing it for him.
I then watched the physicians and nurses in the ER work tirelessly to attempt to restart his heart; only to hear the words “time of death...”
No, my ER colleagues weren’t playing cards that morning either. So before you pass this ridiculous judgement; let me tell you what a 12 hour shift looks like for all of us.
You will never walk a day in our shoes, never the less an hour. So please, have some respect for the nurses you assume “play cards on their breaks”. We hold hands of dying patients. We feed those who cannot feed themselves. We infuse blood and life saving medications, all while running machines that breathe, pump blood and act like kidneys for the body; amidst providing emotional support to families and friends. We are lucky if we pee once in a 12 hour shift. Oh, and don’t forget the lovely powers of JCAHO who don’t allow nurses to have drinks or food anywhere but the break room.
I promise you, if we WERE on break, which I can almost guarantee we are NOT; we will be grabbing a drink, chugging coffee, or scarfing down some sort of sustenance to keep us functioning through our shift.
Thank you for your thoughts, but please, keep them to yourself.
Respectfully,
An Offended Nurse
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