The Young Nurse

He'd been working with asbestos for years and now they were telling him he had mesothelioma? No, now they were telling him he had only a few weeks to live and that he'd be better off under the care of some dumb nurse in a nursing home. Well by god damn god he wasn't going. He hated nursing homes and it was his choice on how he wanted to die, not theirs.

They didn't give a crap about him anyway. Never had. "It's not their right." He told the doctor who was standing before him.

"Unfortunately Mr. Redd it is. You're not in any condition to take care of yourself." The doctor said.

"Like hell I'm not." He tried to pull himself up from the bed, ignoring the sharp pain that struck his chest.

"Nurse! Nurse!" The doctor's sudden shouts meant he was about to be strapped down to the bed again. Mumbling a curse, he settled back down onto the pillow and let out a deep sigh, but it was too late. A tall slender nurse who didn't look a year over 20 walked into the room.

"Get this old fool under control will you?" The doctor turned and left without so much as an acknowledgement to him. But it didn't matter because he knew it wouldn't take long to get this young girl out of his room.

"So let's get you settled, shall we?" The young nurse was tugging at his pillow, trying to fluff it up while he was under it. He snickered at her, wondering where the hospital found her at.

"Might try doing that without me on it." He said.

"If you insist." She said with a smile. He had to admit she had a smile that would have knocked his socks off, had he been 50 years younger, but he wasn't about to let her know that.

Instead he slapped at her hand and said, "Get the hell away from me."

But instead of recoiling she only smiled more. "Oh come on now Mr. Redd. What's gotten you so glum?"

"Glum? Glum! I'll tell you what. These damn fools want me to die in a nursing home." He was about to give her a piece of his mind when she interrupted him.

"Really? How awful. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"What? Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I understand where you're coming from."

He stared at the young nurse and wondered if she'd lost her mind or maybe he'd lost his. Why was she being so nice. What was she up to.

"You're just bullshitting me. Now go on and get the hell out of here." He said angrily. But instead of leaving she leaned forward and placed her hand on his arm.

"It's okay, Mr. Redd." She said softly. He started to speak, but realized he was wasting his time, so he thought a little enforcement was due. With one swift movement he swung his arm forward and grabbed her long blond hair, but what happened next took him by surprise. her hair moved from her head.

For one brief moment it was as if time had stopped and then he saw her eyes well up with tears and he knew he had to ask. There was no other choice. "Why do you wear a wig?"

The girl slowly smiled, even though he knew her there was a pain behind her smile, he listened. "I wear it because I have cancer."

She then went on to explain how she had decided she wouldn't let her diagnosis stop her from fulfilling her dreams, even after she'd learned that her cancer was terminal. She'd wanted to be a nurse and had studied while her friends partied. She'd taken the tests early and graduated early while her friends went back to studying. She wanted to be a part of the lives of others because she knew their pain and she'd hoped in someway that they'd live through her as she lived through them.

And she was right. He'd hugged that young girl and apologized for being such an old fool. He'd lived through her and fought his right to live at home. He didn't have a few weeks, he'd had months to live his life. But, she hadn't.

He'd kept in touch with her and had sat at the edge of her bed, felt her squeeze his hand and breathe her last breath. Now he stared out at the ocean as he lay on the beach and he smiled. It was a smile that would cross his lips forever and a smile that made him remember the young nurse who'd changed his life forever.

When Schools Go Too Far

I was viewing a recent reader's post when it reminded me of one of our local school's and our recent dealings with them.

A few months ago I received a call from my fiance's daughter's school. She was sick they said and I needed to pick her up. I knew she was getting over a cough which we'd been taking care of at home, so I set out thinking her cough had just gotten worse. When I arrived at the school, I was told she was running a 106 temperature. 106??? I panicked (more so because of the time's peanut butter scare) and then became outraged that the school had not bothered to tell me this over the phone. Then I looked at her and checked her forehead. She felt a little warmer than usual, but not a concerned 106. After questioning why they had not told me this over the phone and then asking if they were sure the temperature was right (they argued it was and the principal went as far as saying he wanted to speak with my fiance) I quickly called my fiance and his daughter's doctor so that we could rush her in as an emergency appointment. While waiting for my fiance to get home, I checked her temperature myself with two different thermometers just to make sure. 98 was what I got for both. Between the time my fiance made it home and we made it in to the doctor to have her checked was about 20 minutes from the time we left the school. Now keep this in mind folks.

After the doctor had checked her he came up with the same results I did. 98. Then we asked how the school nurse could have came up with 106. He said he didn't know, but there was no way her temperature could have been 106 and dropped that drastically even if she's had tylenol or any liquids(I never gave her anything). It might have been a little higher because of her cough, but not 106! Then he went on to tell my fiance about his kids going to the same school and being sent home with an exaggerated temperature. So we asked for a doctor's note to explain that her temperature was fine, but to keep her out for the remainder of the day since she did have a cough.

When we returned to the school with the note and asked to speak with both the principal and the nurse we were told they were not there. Then when we explained what the doctor had noted, the secretary mumbled she couldn't talk about the situation, but would let the nurse and principal know. Then she went on to say I had to have given her something to drop the temperature! When I explained I hadn't and even if I had the time frame could still not have dropped the temperature that drastically, she argued with my fiance and I. So we simply told her to have the principal confirm it with the doctor since he was the one who confirmed it. She stopped arguing and went on to again say, she couldn't talk about the situation. Sigh.

We checked back Monday to speak to the nurse and principal. No nurse and no principal. For a principal who insists on speaking with my fiance, he sure wasn't around anytime my fiance asked to see him. After another failed attempt a few days later, we finally gave up.

Now we are slowly learning from other parents who have came out of the woodwork, we are not the only ones whose child has been sent home for an exaggerated temperature. We are very sure the school's thermometers are off, but will the school listen? Nope.

So to all those schools who we understand are concerned about our children's well-being and we love you for it... If you get a situation like the one above, please check your equipment. If it had been a real situation with faulty equipment, there's no telling what the outcome may have been!