Certified Nursing Assistant

Patient Stories

I had one patient who insisted I called her Grandma, no matter what. If I were to even think about calling her by her name she would give me a look until I called her Grandma. She shared life stories and advice, and she would ask about my day and encourage my career path. One evening, she was in severe pain and while I was going about changing her for bed, she grabbed my hand and thanked me for helping her. She thanked me for about 3 minutes non-stop and I couldn't help but tear up. It made me feel like I was making a true difference in my patients lives. 

One patient I had was an older woman who didn't speak, she would make noises however. We had a rhythm going and I felt I was making a good connection with her as her face would light up when I entered the room. One day, at the beginning of my shift before I received my patient assignment, and I stopped into her room to say hello. She grabbed my hand and started making frantic noises and kept looking over my shoulder, but there was no one else in the room. I was unable to soothe her for a while, but I told her I would be back when I could and it was going to be okay.  She let me go and we waved goodbye. Not too long later, she was pronounced deceased. It was a surreal feeling knowing I had spoken to her earlier. I always wonder if she was seeing something I didn't. It gives me chills to this day when I think of it.