So about 8 mos ago I had my first ever patient CODE. He was 23 years old, and was the victim of a home invasion. He was hit in the jaw which consequently broke and he required surgery to repair it. Long story short, he coded about 15 mins into the surgery and we were able to resuscitate him after 10 mins of CPR/ ACLS, though his prognosis was not very good at that point. He remained in a coma for 5 weeks after this event. There was NO FINDINGS as to why this kid coded.
This kid CHANGED my life in my working career. Never have I, nor will I forget him. I checked on him almost daily for several weeks.
Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to meet him again for a second time. He had to come back for surgery for something un related.
Anyway, he is alive and doing well. Not without permanent damage, but still a fully functional human being.
What is so cool about this is, I actaully had the opportunity to talk to him face to face, let him know (without being too creepy about) how the experience affected me, and how it changed my practice. Further...it is actually pretty RARE that you get to the opportunity to see that person again and even more rare that it was my first.
Kinda hard to describe here, but I just wanted to share it, cuz it was truly a momentous experience for me.
Its things like that, that makes what I do SOOOOO WORTH IT.
To think...he actaully thanked ME.
K
This kid CHANGED my life in my working career. Never have I, nor will I forget him. I checked on him almost daily for several weeks.
Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to meet him again for a second time. He had to come back for surgery for something un related.
Anyway, he is alive and doing well. Not without permanent damage, but still a fully functional human being.
What is so cool about this is, I actaully had the opportunity to talk to him face to face, let him know (without being too creepy about) how the experience affected me, and how it changed my practice. Further...it is actually pretty RARE that you get to the opportunity to see that person again and even more rare that it was my first.
Kinda hard to describe here, but I just wanted to share it, cuz it was truly a momentous experience for me.
Its things like that, that makes what I do SOOOOO WORTH IT.
To think...he actaully thanked ME.
K
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