calling Dr. House

Today was not as epic as I would've liked it to be.
1. No maggot therapy after all, poor lady suddenly started gushing blood out of her wound, so the nurse decided that maggots was just not gonna happen today.
2. 3/5 of my morning patients were a no-show, and the other 2 were late, so I didn't get to do much.

However, today was abit of an emotional one. Had a patient who had only JUST amputated all five toes on her right foot a couple of weeks ago, but was told today that if she doesn't heal up she would have no choice but to have a below the knee amputation. The reason why she couldn't heal properly - nobody knew. It wasn't because of her blood supply, nor was it due to infection - she was just in a plight where her immune system's just sort of attacking her own body. It was uplifting to see her still being able to smile, and joke around about being able to decorate her post-operative shoes and stump with wedding ribbons, or paint her wheelchair a different colour to match the dress that she would wear during her daughter's wedding in a month's time. But when the vascular surgeon spoke those dreaded words, there was the usual awkward silence (you know the one that usually follows bad news), and there was just such an obvious drop in mood in the room...and then the tears started to flow. My patient was upset.

I think my supervisor was really strong, she must be quite used to it. But I had to leave the room for a bit, I was overwhelmed by such a strong feeling of sadness..I teared. She wasn't even someone I knew or had seen regularly!! I can't possibly imagine what it would feel like if I had gotten to know this person on a more personal level and had been treating her on a regular basis.

But I guess this just comes with the entire package, it's something I'm going to have to be able to deal with. I do pray that God will grant me the strength and wisdom to handle situations like these, and I do thank Him for these little incidents that pop up every once in a while, that serve to remind me of the fragility of life and how blessed I am. Truly, I am blessed. :)