manicure

when i became a nurse, i had no idea what i was getting myself into.

that's not totally true. before i went to nursing school, i volunteered in kolkata, india and saw some pretty gruesome and horrifying things. there were maggots crawling out of wounds and hiding under tissues; we played hide and go seek with tweezers for hours. and more than once i saw prolapsed uteruses hanging between women's legs (at the time, that sure confused me; i wasn't sure what i was looking at). sorry to be graphic, but it's true!

but in the US, i have not seen these things. perhaps it's because i am on oncology nurse. thankfully, we avoid maggots and uteruses in oncology. but i have seen and done some other strange things.

this week i was humbled by helping my patient with a manicure. imagine being so sick that you don't realize (or even care) that there are things under your nails even a gardener would cringe at. with delicacy, so as to avoid embarrassment, i told my patient it was time for some pampering (we HAD to do something about the poop situation under her fingernails). i filled a basin with hot, soapy water and grabbed a toothbrush (that i promptly threw out so as to NEVER be used in her mouth) so my patient could go to town. sadly, she didn't even have the energy to take care of business herself. So, i gave my first manicure. there was no polish. just 10 minutes of soaking, scrubbing, and "pampering."

some of my nurse friends and i always joke about being sick (we have to make light of the situations we see). we have promised one another that if one of us is dying, we will take care of the hairs on chins and keep lady parts clean. those two things are critical to one's dignity at the end of life. this week, i have added a new task to the important list. please, please - someone get the poop out from under my fingernails!