1st Patient

Some people never ever forget their first patient in nursing school. I can say that I'll never forget my first patient as a real nurse.

Patient 1 is a teenage boy who was in an accident that caused him to have his whole body burned up to his neck. He had to have both legs amputated and multiple surgeries. He will be on our unit for a long time getting stable and will then go to a rehab center. When I worked 6 out of 7 days after returning from our lovely trip to San Antonio, I had him 4 of those days.

My patient was a great kid! I bonded with him quickly and he said I was one of his favorite nurses. He was so sweet and the toughest patient I had ever encountered. He refused pain medicine because he didn't want to sleep through any of the visits that he had with family and friends, so he bared the pain to socialize.

He later found out about his legs, but I was never able to talk to him because he had so many visitors. I told him at the end of the day that I was actually jealous of his friends and wished we could have talked more. He said the same, but that he really enjoyed his friends' visits.

One evening after a difficult day, I heard Mark Schultz's "He's My Son" and bawled all the way home. I pray that this kid sees God's purpose in his life and will live to his fullest potential. He as already touched so many lives with this tragic accident.

One day I told him "you have no idea how many people's lives you've affected in a positive way!" He said, "really?" His friends were in the room and said, "oh yeah, we don't party and drive anymore!" He said, "I guess it'll be more than I'll ever know, huh?" I replied, "more than you'll ever know!" I get goose bumps thinking about his life. It is a hell of a lesson that he had to go through when everyone makes stupid decisions in life. I pray that his friends never forget this moment.