Yall, I Got my dang heart RIPPED OUT today by my elderly patient. As I began to assess him in his tiny bare apartment, I was aware of the torn couch he sat on that was covered with an old sleeping bag full of burn holes, the covered jar of urine by the couch, the dirty wheelchair in the corner, the Vietnam caps on the wall and the ashtray full of cigarettes. Respectfully, he put one out when I came in. Covered in open wounds from his hands to his feet leaving him unable to walk or hardly use his hands, He stroked his long dirty beard and told me how he had slept under the overpass for 3 years a while back, how he has been sitting in this spot for a month with no shower, NOBODY to help him with his colostomy bag, NOBODY to help him get his disability checks cashed that he was FINALLY awarded after fighting so long. He pulls out 5 months of checks from his shirt stating he was refused a bank account b/c no birth certificate and has to go to the food bank to survive. This VETERAN that SERVED our COUNTRY has been swept under the rug, MADNESS. I briefed the paramedics when they arrived about him and his plight to assure the upmost respect was shown to him. As they loaded him up in the ambulance, he asked the paramedics to wait. He took my hand and as I looked into his blue eyes, I saw my late father. He said Thank you, will you promise that YOU will come back? I see in your eyes that you care and thats hard to find these days maam. As I blinked back the tears, I whispered to him where I hid his checks in his little apartment and told him I will NOT forget you and Monday Morning, I WILL get a hold of your social worker at the VA and get you some help. I locked his little apartment up and watched them drive away, part of my heart in that ambulance
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 00:52:41 +0000
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