This patient was admitted to Pulmonary B with a horrible infection on his face. He was quite disfigured and attracted a lot of unwanted attention from multiple medical students, physicians and surgeons. Justin was his nurse on the first day the patient came into SLH. Justin worked for several hours on his infection to clean it and try to stop the bleeding and oozing. Then Justin put a dressing on the wound and abound his face so that the wound was not visible to people who walked in. Throughout this process, Justin talked to him about his family, where he was from and his hobbies. Justin did not ask the patient how the wound got so infected or why he didn't go see a doctor sooner, like the residents and physicians had done. Justin just talked to him.
Even though he was in excruciating pain from the cleaning out of the wound, he was laughing and joking with Justin. He would apologize to Justin for all the work he had to do. Justin reassured him that there was no need to apologize. They would get through this together. On Justin's day off, he would come to the hospital to visit him. He brought him magazines and they would just sit and talk. Justin made sure that he never needed anything. His family wasn't close by so he didn't have visitors. Justin made sure that he was never lonely.
The infection on his face was not an infection at all. He was diagnosed with invasive Squamous Cell Cancer. Justin was his nurse when he got the news and he was there when he started radiation therapy the next day. Justin was just what he needed to maintain his spirits during a very difficult time. He told Justin that if he could not be cured, he wanted to go home to be with his grandchildren. He wanted to know if the treatments he had been receiving were working or were we just prolonging the inevitable. Justin felt his pain and frustration. He organized a patient care conference with the physicians, social worker, nurses and care coordinator. His goal was to get all the physicians together to discuss his current treatments and prognosis. Then this information would be shared with the patient.
After almost 4 weeks in the hospital, IV antibiotics and 20 radiation treatments to his face, the physicians told him that his cancer could not be cured. Justin was there when he received the news. He was grateful to Justin for all he did to get the answers he needed. Justin was the glue that held him together during a very difficult time. Although the outcome was not what we wanted, he and Justin formed a bond that won't be forgotten.