Tell me something about you/ your life that helps me live vicariously through you.

@Sigurd Tell me what hides behind that wide smile emoji!

@SW-User I'll tell you about one of my patients, but I'll leave out the important bits to avoid the whole HIPAA thing.

When I first saw her, she was a young 20 something who wasn't even cognizant. Her mom was there holding her hand, and she was just being there as much as she could. You see, I'm a dietitian tech and I was going from room to room making sure everyone's dietary logs were in (really, I'm just a glorified waiter).

The whole day when I'd come across her room she looked like she was in rough shape. It was kind of disturbing to see, but there was not really much I could do for her. I did my shift, went home, and had 3 days off (12 hour shifts are nice with all those days off), and when I came back to work she was up and cheery.

Apparently, when I saw her a few days prior, she had just been worked on. Her arteries in her chest and arm were falling apart, and they had to actively stitch her together while they were falling apart. They did it, though... And she survived. I got to know her real well over the next few days... She become real philosophical about life and her place in it, much like we all do when we come face to face with the realization of our own mortality.

I got to experience seeing her go from being at the worst point of her life and recovering... Finding love of life and enjoying what time she has left. Apparently, she could pass any time between now and the age of 50. They don't expect her to live much longer than that.

@Sigurd That was touching! I am sure that she feels grateful for even these years she seems to have on loan.

@SW-User Well, all our lives are on loan when you think about it. The only thing we ever truly own are the experiences we've had in life, but even those turn to dust when we do... Only the consequences of our actions live on after we've gone. 🙂

@Sigurd Very true. Though when someone puts a near expiry on it, it has a different feel to it. Like it becomes more tangible and the other natural way is more of a 'one day far away' thing. Maybe its this delusion that makes us take our lives so much for granted. (those who do).

@SW-User Facts!

@SW-User Also, working around a bunch of patients who are knocking on death's door also seems to hammer that point home. 😁

@Sigurd You must have to keep yourself really grounded to be around all this pain. I feel emotional reading that story, you've to see all this daily. Respect.❤️

@SW-User Eh... I'm just a dietitian tech. ☺️ There's a lot of people here who do jobs that I feel don't get the recognition they deserve; the kind of jobs where it takes a special kind of person to do it. We all work together to help people heal though - and it is pretty wonderful to be apart of that.😁 It is a bitter sweet thing, though.

Plus, I didn't realize how many old men's junk I'd be seeing. Yesterday an old guy was just standing in the doorway of his room with his gown open just... Hanging out. I'm not sure how people get so comfortable in a hospital, but meh... I guess there's a certain age you reach where you just don't give a shit anymore. 😆

@Sigurd I meant just being around the whole process of death, revival, birth etc is a sensory load for someone like me.

@SW-User Oh! Yah... I can see that. I guess I never really thought about it in those terms. Then again, I never went into the hospital with it as a career goal; it kind of just happened. I was kind of eased into it, so it wasn't so overwhelming all at once for me.

It does take someone who is empathetic, though, so I think you'd excel in that regard. The whole spirit of this thread is testament to that fact, I think. 😊

@Sigurd Thank you. That made me smile. ❤️