Lately

Lately was Originally Posted on May 16, 2014 by lavarock

Recently I returned from another free flight to Oahu (Honolulu) and picked up the dogs. Although I love free flights, this one involved another hospital stay for a lingering issue that started with my heart surgery. Although this does not involve my heart, it does effect quality of life.

Without going into details, they ran some tests and I essentially stayed in bed for the duration of my stay.

In a couple weeks I will go back again this time for a prostate surgery. That stay should only last a couple days.

When I first got there, I had a roommate for a day and he left. Then a couple days before leaving they brought in a young man from the emergency room. This was Sunday night Monday morning at 2am. The emergency room doctor came up later to speak with him. Although I had been asleep, I overheard the doctor whispering to him about his condition. He had pneumonia and had lost weight recently. More testing was needed but they suspected he was HIV positive. When the doctor told him that, there was a very noticeable silence and then crying as the fact sunk in. The doctor said over and over that this did not mean a death sentence and that there are many people living with that diagnosis.

The next morning he was assigned a regular doctor who then came to speak with him. Although I was not able to leave the room, I did diplomatically camp out in the bathroom, but could still hear part of the conversation. The patient decided not to tell his family about the condition, even after the blood tests would be verified.

Over the next 2 days many family members and friends came to visit him and some family asked the doctor questions such as to how they would treat the pneumonia and other questions about how long he would be sick. The doctor did his best to sidestep certain questions without  arousing suspicion. It was a very delicate dance he did to respect his patients wishes.

I once came upon a traffic accident and stayed with a woman until the ambulance arrived. The attendant asked if I could go on to the hospital with them and hold her hand on the trip. I agreed even though I did not know the woman.

There are times when we find ourselves in the middle of someone else’s life and sometimes by choice, sometimes by accident. In the case of the young man, I just acted as though I knew nothing and withheld every need to tell him I would pray for his recovery. Perhaps it is the feeling that he wanted privacy and that is one thing I could give him.