A Stay in the Intensive Care Unit
Read more articles on Life's Nuances and Let Me Share With You.August 31, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
August 31, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
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My 80 year old father, who has been recuperating from leg surgery at my house since June, was re-admitted for a second surgery two weeks ago, and ended up spending the last 10 days in Intensive Care. Luckily he’s now been stepped down to a regular hospital room, so that’s a relief and a move in the right direction. Unfortunately, it also means the start of another 12 weeks or so with a walker for him. But that’s definitely better than other alternatives!
Visiting someone in the ICU or Trauma Unit is very difficult the first time, and more so when it’s unexpected. Seeing all of the wires, tubes and blipping machines is overwhelming, especially if the patient is sedated. Regardless of how much that equipment is urgently needed, it appears evil, in some unfathomable way.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sense of despair I felt while walking down the long hallways to this particular UMPC unit. With strict visiting hours and only approved entry, it’s like entering a specialized and sacrosanct world, which, in a way, it is. The actual area is newly remodeled, with beautiful large and private rooms, complete with hardwood flooring, chair rails, and flat screen televisions. Ironically, most patients aren’t even aware of their surroundings and only the visitors enjoy the television. Each room has a glass window in which the nurse sits behind, so that visits are private, which is an improvement on the old-fashioned ward style of ICU.
It was hard not to glimpse into the other rooms as I walked bath and forth, and most of what I saw unnerved me, even more so when I’d notice them day after day in the same condition. Many visitors were required to don gowns, gloves and masks before entering their loved one’s room, but that was not the case for me. Every day the nurses and/or doctors would come in and update me on the specifics of my dad’s condition, and more than ever I came to the conclusion that a medical career has to be one of the noblest known to mankind.
The daily visits across town aren’t going to stop just yet, but I’m actually glad that I still have reason to do so. No matter what the prognosis, the terms “intensive care” and “critically ill” are enough to cause major stress and upheaval in life, and this is something that is universal through space and time, affecting all of us.
Here’s hoping that we don’t have the experience very often or for very long, and that, if we do, we have the support and love we need from many sources to help us through.
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