back on the ward

Yesterday I was a nurse again.

As I went to bed the night before I was a little nervous. Hoping that I'd remember quickly what I was doing. Fortunately, yesterday was a light day and went quite smoothly; my memory had stayed nicely intact.

It's really nice to see the hospital filling with patients again. Surgeries began on Thursday and many of the patients we are now caring for were screened on Monday, a pretty quick turn around.

I took care of the cutest little 6 year old boy, Adolpho. It was been over three months since I have regularly interacted with children and I was very happy to see a small face again.Adolpho had a growth on his ear that was just slightly smaller than a ping pong ball removed. He was the first survival case of the day. He was quite the compliant patient.

He needed to have some labs drawn before his surgery, which did not make me very excited. Most 6 year olds scream and cry at the thought of a needle and I was expecting to use all of my brute strength to hold him down. But Adolpho simply held out his arm and did not bat an eye when we stuck him. When it was time for him to go to the OR he excitedly jumped out of bed with a large smile and grabbed my hand as we walked down the hallway to the OR waiting area.

Later in the day, after he came back from surgery, we spent some quality time building with blocks on the ward. I built a large block bridge for him to wheel his toy car under. We ended the shift by going up to deck seven and looking at the large boats on our dock; which he enjoyed. He then was the recipient of a rather animated reading of the Dr. Seuss classic Green Eggs and Ham.

The entire time he wore a shy, tender smile and every so often would say something about football or school in a soft voice. He was adorable.

It's fun to be with patients again.