It is 11 p.m. I sit in a shared emergency department cubicle. An elderly man enters the room on an ambulance stretcher. His daughter is close by giving the medical staff a detailed explanation of her father's medical history and the events which lead to this visit.
The medical team cannot discern if the man had a stroke or seizure. The neurology team is summoned. After a brief examination and a CT scan, they decide he had a seizure. They give him Ativan, and almost immediately the man starts snoring.
As I listen to the man breathe, I notice there is something wrong. I cannot put my finger on it. I try to distract myself. But his breathing, it is just not right.
I am exhausted after a long day of traveling to a doctor's appointment and then being told I needed to go to the emergency department for prompt medical care. Fatigue overwhelms my body. However, sleep is fleeting with all the noise of the emergency department and the constant parade of medical personnel examining my roommate.
In an attempt to distract myself, I write an email. However, words from long ago suddenly drift through my head. "When you hear this type of breathing, do not be fooled. This is not snoring. The patient's breathing is very shallow. The patient need to be intubated." Instantly, these words from long ago make me realize what is wrong. My roommate's breathing is extremely superficial. That is what I am hearing. The man needs to be intubated.
It is 1:30 a.m. Doctor after doctor has come to see the man next to me. They do an exam including listening to his lungs with a stethoscope. I keep watching and wondering when someone will realize this man's breathing is too shallow. No one seems to notice my observation. I want to stop the doctors. "Listen. Listen to this man's breathing! It is very superficial. He needs to be on a ventilator." I know I can do nothing. Who am I to question a medical professional? Not knowing what else to do, I begin to pray. "LORD, please let the doctors realize this man needs to be intubated. Please let them figure this out before this man's vital signs crash. Please, help this man and his daughter. Please comfort the daughter."
The elderly man's daughter is one of the sweetest and most loving people I have ever met. Her love for her father radiates like a bright light around her. My heart breaks. I know this woman is soon going to be faced with a very difficult decision--should she or should she not allow her father to be intubated.
Finally around 4 a.m., the lead doctor realizes the man in the bed next to mine has extremely shallow breathing. The doctor listens carefully with his stethoscope. He listens and listens. He then abruptly tells the daughter, "Your father needs to be intubated. Is he DNR?" The daughter does not know if her father wishes to be intubated or not. The daughter is in complete anguish. She asks the doctor for some time to make the decision. The woman steps out of the room into the hallway to call someone. Five minutes pass before the daughter returns back to the room.
With much angst and trepidation , the daughter decides she will allow her father to be intubated. The doctor warns the daughter once her father is intubated, it is very likely he will be on a ventilator for the rest of his life. The daughter nearly starts to cry. The physician asks the daughter to leave the room. A medical team is summoned, and the man is intubated. Once the procedure is complete, and the man is safely on the ventilator, I breathe a sign of relief. I feel like I have been holding my breath these last few hours, praying for my roommate.
Now that the patient is intubated, I cannot help but continue to pray for the man and his daughter. I greatly fear that this man's life is ebbing away. Dread builds up within me that in a few days, this man's daughter will be planning his funeral. Grief and sorrow fill my soul.
Around 9 o'clock in the morning, my roommate is moved to the neuro intensive care unit. The man and his daughter exit my life, but their story remains engraved on my heart. For the rest of my hospital stay, I continually pray for the man and his daughter. I pray God heals the man. I pray the man is able to regain his ability to breathe on his own. I pray for God to give the daughter comfort, courage and strength. God heard and answered my prayers while in the emergency department. I pray He hears and answers my prayers again for this man and his daughter. I have never seen greater love than what this woman had for her father. Tears well up in my eyes as I think that one day these two souls will be separated. Such sweet, genuine love is so rare to find. May their love for each other continue for years to come.
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