An early winter morning in 2017, birds were singing outside of the inpatient ward and the sunlight penetrated the curtain to shine on the sheet. All of these indicated that the day would be an unusual shining good day. One patient, Mr. G, got up early and sat on the bed, using almost all his strength to breathe, staring at the curtain, with no intent to open it.
We started our morning rounds as usual, but heard loud, quarreling coming out of Mr. G's room. Ms. Wang Yuqiu, hearing the noise, rushed to the room immediately with us following her. We found that Mr. G was trying to tie his belt in a special way that no one could understand. The nurse aid was trying to untie the belt and tie back in the usual way. They stopped quarreling when we entered the room. We found that Mr. G couldn't clearly express his thoughts by talking and we left the room.
Later on, when Ms. Wang finished her rounds and was completing nursing charting, a "critical value" information box popped up on her screen. Ms. Wang clicked the information, hoping it was not one of her patient's. Yet, the most worrying thing-- "Hemoglobin count for Mr. G was only 6.5g (normal range: 12-16g)" came into Ms. Wang's eyes. When Ms. Wang saw the patient name was G, a worried expression appeared on her face. Mr. G had a belief that he did not accept medicine or IVs for treatment. He was diagnosed with nasopharynx cancer months ago and suffered from headaches and toothaches. He only accepted minimal meds to alleviate his symptoms. He also had radiation encephalopathy due to the multiple radiation therapies, which left him with only the mumbling talking ability. Each time when Ms. Wang administered his meds, she would tell him that the function of the meds was to nurture his nerves. Although Mr. G couldn't talk clearly, he had a clear mind and knew all about these. He would laugh out loud when Ms. Wang was his primary nurse.
Ms. Wang knew that with his hemoglobin so low, G would likely need a blood transfusion. From her understanding, Mr. G would rather die than accept the blood transfusion. Nevertheless, Ms. Wang decided to try to talk to him after work one day. Surprisingly, G was receptive to conversation and they talked until almost midnight that day. Ms. Wang learned his detailed medical history, his spiritual beliefs, details about his family, and the work he did among other things. Mr. G was an Army veteran, who had worked really hard to support his family. The specific way of tying the belt was one thing he had learned in the army. Ms. Wang found that way of tying was actually quick and easy to untie once a person learned it. Ms. Wang felt that after the talk, the two of them became more like friends rather than just a patient to a nurse. Mr. G was actually lovely once a person got to know him and truly listened to him. He understood better about medical procedures and actually accepted the blood transfusion after the great talk.
Ms. Wang closely monitored Mr. G's blood transfusion the next day. After the transfusion, Mr. G' eyes were still focused on the curtains, breathing with almost all his strength.
The next morning, Ms. Wang came to the room for her usual rounds, she greeted Mr. G with a big smile, "Good morning, Mr. G. How are you today? I'm your primary nurse-Wang Yuqiu!" Mr. G moved his eyes from the curtain and saw Ms. Wang. He lifted his left finger, tried to say something, but instead could only shed a few tears as he offered her a big smile.
On the day of Mr. G's discharge, a family member knocked on the nurse manager's office, and introduced himself as a family member of Mr. G. "Today we are going back home," he said. "Mr. G wants to say Thank you to Ms. Wang Yuqiu and hopes you know how great your nurses are!" Mr. G left a card for the nurse manager, saying, "I don't know what it means to be a professional nurse, yet I know what compassionate care is. It is just like Ms. Wang Yuqiu providing care with great love."