Not Too Long Before You're Pushing Up Daisies

WARNING: It's about to get deep up in here

Tuesdays are my absolute favorite day of the week (not including the weekend, of course). I LOVE my critical care clinical rotation in the neuro ICU! I have seen some of the most interesting, amazing, sad, uplifting, depressing, educational, (insert 100 more descriptive words here) things and I have only been on the unit a handful of times. Today more than even before, I really tried to put myself in the shoes of the family members whose loved ones I was taking care of.

Without going in to details about any specific patient, I will just say that there were patients who were newly admitted to the neuro ICU and the families were forced to deal with an extremely wide variety of emotions that centered around the health, well-being, and mortality of the one they love so dearly. I really tried to take extra time today to answer questions or even just offer a tissue while they sobbed at the bedside. Maybe it's a sign that I am maturing, but today I really felt like I was there to CARE for patients and families, not just learn something new and rack up clinical hours. I so badly want to make a difference.

So as I walked the halls of the unit today, I couldn't help but try to put myself in the shoes of the families. I thought about my mom, my dad, my husband, my brother, my sister-in-law, etc. What if this was one of them? What if I was the family member sobbing at the bedside? Life is TOO SHORT. We say that phrase all the time, but hardly anyone ever does anything about it. I know that starting today, I am going to try. Does it really matter that my husband always forgets to take out the trash? No. What if an argument about trash was the last conversation we ever had? Life is fleeting and it's just plain stupid to waste time on things that don't matter. Forgive. Love. Appreciate.

Don't forget to cherish the ones you love, I know I won't.