The Bologna Blog

Take the time to listen

While caring for a dementia patient, I was given quite a sweet surprise. In the report i received, I was told that the man was non-verbal and alert x 0. At one point during the night his cardiac monitor came off and looked fuzzy on my screen ( which no nurse likes to see) , so I gowned up to see what was happening. I entered the room with him staring at me and a bit of a smile on his face. I said, " Mr. so and so, are you playing a trick on me?" His smile got bigger. I said, " I know all of these wires are a pain, but you have managed to tie yourself in knots. Let's see if we can fix this." HE SAID, "Yeah, Good idea," I got him all straightened out, washed his face, gave him some water, turned him and fluffed the pillows around him all the while having a conversation about the weather, his care, family members I had met, and just general topics of interest. The entire time he followed me with his eyes and occasionally lifted his lips in a smile.As I asked questions, he would say yes and no in response. I spent forty five minutes in his room doing what I love best, finding the human connection and making a difference. This is not the first time I have been told that patients can't talk. Sadly, it has happened many times through the years, but it might just be that you need to invest in listening to hear the quiet of their voices.