It’s Hard

Yes, it’s hard when a family member is so ill and has been given a short life expectancy.  Yes, it is hard to watch her children and husband suffer right along with her.  Yes, it is hard to see all the other patients and families suffering on the oncology floor at Billings Clinic.  It’s just hard, in fact it’s beyond hard. 

My career was as a nurse—I never worked on a patient care floor during much of that career—I was an operating room nurse.  As a result I didn’t see much patient/family suffering—the patients came to us sedated and left us very sedated—I usually never saw them again.  The nurses on this oncology floor are simply put—awesome.  In the face of all the suffering and death they see, they are confident, upbeat, caring, knowledgeable and supportive.  I admire and thank them so much.