Distraction

I've lost count on the "lesson" numbers and the quotes, but since this is no longer a blog about "what I've learned in nursing school" and more about the lessons nursing is teaching me, I decided to change the format a little.  I'm still looking for a new blog name, so suggestions are welcome. :)

So here is today's lesson. 

My preceptor had a patient today who has dementia.  Early this morning while we were helping one of our other patients, he was out roaming the hall peeking into other rooms.  He was completely disoriented all day. It didn't matter how many times she escorted him back to his room, he wandered back out. She would take him back and no sooner than she would get back to the nurses station, the bed alarm was going off again. 

You could tell his mind was full of words he wanted to say, but couldn't get out.  You could see his frustration when he tried to explain to us things we could not understand. All he wanted to do was make sense of what was going on, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't...

There wasn't anyone available to sit with him, so my preceptor decided the next best thing was to take him to the nurses station.  And when I say she brought him to the nurses station, I mean he sat next to me, at my designated desk, IV pole and all. It's slightly comical when I imagine it now, I felt like it was bring your friend to work day.  We tried to entertain him with magaizines and a puzzle, but neither worked.  So we got out some washcloths and he finally sat there. 

He folded them meticulously. Fixing each wrinkle, and refolding the ones that were not perfect squares.  He placed them neatly in a pile, one on top of the other. When he finished he patted the top and looked over for approval.  We said thank you, and I pretended to take them to the linen closet to put them away. I secretly unfolded them all and brought them back again.  We repeated this process many times over.

I realized then that when we are lost and confused, sometimes all we need is the silent company of others and a temporary distraction to keep our mind from the thoughts that consume and frustrate us. 

For some of us it's cooking, writing, or getting lost in a good book.  Others prefer a long nap or a great movie.  Some like wine or dancing, and for others maybe it's folding washcloths.

I've heard people say before that distractions are bad, and just a way to avoid the inevitable truth. I disagree.  These distractions are not meant to be a permanent fix but a temporary way to give our tired hearts a break. Sometimes a distraction is all we need to ease our mind and give us a moment to focus on something other than our troubles.