5 West Nursing

“How ironic”, I thought to myself as I prepare morphine for my 25-year-old patient who attempted to commit suicide by trying to skewer himself on the neighbor’s unfinished concrete fence.

He apparently jump onto the metal prongs that protruded out of the construction site in hopes of puncturing his heart. Instead, he ends up in the ICU with a chest tube, battered and bruised all over with two puncture wounds to his chest and abdomen…. I’m thinking, OUCH!

Therapeutic communication comes to mind as I entered the room. What do you say in a situation like this one, knowing that this is his 2nd attempt? Do you say something or do you just play it cool? How do you help an individual in this situation? How do you say, “listen up buddy, get your act straight, you got 3 kids and a wife depending on you!”…

As I attended to his need, it became apparent to me that there was something quite odd about my patient. I can’t put my finger on it, but you know there’s something off about him. One thing I did observe… he seems to enjoy the fact that family is pouring over him in this pathetic state. Well, I don’t know what the circumstances are, all I know is that I’m in a position to help, at least with the chest trauma. What’s going on in his head? Who knows? He’s going to a court appointed psychiatric facility after he gets better despite objections from his mother.

I could imagine what the mother is going through. She’s probably thinking to herself… “I did not raise a psycho.” It’s sad when you see family like this… the stigma of having someone in the family that has a mental problem… in this case depression.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced this, however, not to a point we want to end our lives. In 2005 it is estimated that there are 18.8 million American adults affected by depression (Murrey, 2005). You will find other statistical data on the link just mentioned. As you know, depression affects everyone… not just the person that actually has it. So how do we deal with depression?

There are many resources out there for dealing with depression. You’ll find a plethora of resources available on the internet, just Google it! I guess like any psychiatric problem it comes does to an individual’s ability to cope with a given situation or problem. Some are able to cope better than others. Yet, the problem can be attributed to hormonal imbalances in the brain. If that’s the case, certainly drug therapy is indicated, and hopefully the patient sticks to the treatment plan.

As I administer the morphine my patient lets out a sigh. No… more like the sound someone makes after sipping a tasty cup of coffee. You can hear the ahhhh! Did I just give him his drug fix? Bottom line, he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t think to skewer himself. Unfortunately most of our ICU people end up here because of their own doing, i.e., most of their injuries could have been prevented. But what can you do? You give care the best way you possibly can. You nurse them back to health and hopefully give them tips on how to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. Then you hope they don’t come back because they followed your advice and health education, and maybe they’d appreciate the second chance at life they’ve been given. You allay the family’s anxiety (or maybe ask the doctor to give them some Ativan ). Then you go home and hug and kiss your wife and kids and count your blessings… after all, it’s God’s gift to you. Then you remind yourself, God is in control… and knowing that, you shouldn’t be depressed at all.