I Can See Thestrals Now

[piasharn]

Today was a milestone of sorts, I suppose...

I watched a patient die on the table in the trauma room.

I've seen dead bodies before, but I've never actually witnessed someone pass away. It wasn't the death that bothered me so much (the patient was unconscious and undergoing CPR when s/he arrived) as the reaction of the spouse, who arrived some time later. The quiet grief, the gentle kiss on the forehead, was far more poignant than the vocal exclamations I have seen from others.

One of the trauma nurses was red-eyed and sniffing by the time we wheeled the body out. S/he put it down to lack of sleep and a long shift. Plus the fact that we've had a lot of trauma cases - some fatal - come in during the past couple of weeks. (We had three in a row earlier today. This particular case was the fourth for the day.) I pointed out to her that there was no shame in mourning the passing of another living being, whether or not s/he had known the person.

It wasn't until after I got home that I broke down.

Comments

[piasharn.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

I knew it was something I'd see soomer or later. But you never know exactly how you'll react until it actually occurs.