OPINION: PIANO MAN

A nurse, who is a friend of my partner, had an amazing experience recently (and is amazing herself).  She described it this way:

“I woke up this morning singing “Piano Man.”  At the hospital I cared for a patient named Ted – a 60 year old guy who was really sick with COVID pneumonia. They were trying not to intubate him and he was on that edge.

The nurse before me told me he was super weak, but wouldn’t do anything for himself. The monitor alarms were ringing constantly and he wouldn’t turn over as he was told, which would have helped.  The ICU doctor told me his chest X-ray looked just terrible, the patient wasn’t improving no matter what they did, and they were running out of options.  I just got this feeling that my job for the weekend was to do everything in my basket of possibilities to turn this around.  I talked to Ted.  He was between fear and tears, “Am I going to get better? The doctors tell me I’m doing really bad.”

Let The Light In
I opened the window blind to let the light in and told him all the success stories I could think of.  He told me about losing his son a month ago… and cried. I said, “You need to make it through this for your wife.” We talked about his triumphs in the past and how he had to get mad at this virus and say “You are not going to take me down!” Between all this the alarms are going off and he is going to his side and trying to find positions that help to keep up the oxygen. I just felt honored to hear about parts of his life and I felt like by talking he was getting his power back.

I asked him all about the things he loved, and learned about a 100–year old turtle he found in his lake and released. On and on. He fed himself, he stopped ringing the call bell, he slept. He was appreciative, and he looked better.

The Next Morning
The next morning we started all over. I told him for the next 12 hours it was my intention to get him to turn this train around! When his wife called telling me she had been so devastated by being told they were basically giving up on him the day before, I told her this guy was going to make it.  Ted and I shared more stories. Later that day the ICU doctor was really shocked. Ted was requiring less oxygen, eating and drinking, and in more hopeful spirits.

After a while of me fixing all his monitor wires and talking he said, “You know I love to sing.” And then this guy on all this oxygen, with a beat red face, tears in his eyes, starts to belt out “Piano Man” and he sang the whole song even as the low oxygen alarms were going off.

I think that was the moment, when all the life rushed back into him. He started singing another song and then I had to leave but I heard him in there singing.  

Piano Man … sing on!”

A Story of Hope
I share this story because it made me cry and gave me hope.  This may or may not be the way to cure COVID19 in everyone, but the human spirit shines in it.  I think we all need someone to believe in us and care about us.  We all need someone to open the blinds and let the sunshine in.  When someone listens to us and values our stories and successes it makes a difference.  And… we can all be that person for others.  We may not all be like this amazing nurse, but we all can appreciate, and listen, and encourage others … and maybe sing a little. You make a difference when you do.

Note: This is a true story, written by this remarkable nurse and somewhat abridged by me.  At the request of the nurse, I’ve not used her name and I’ve changed the name of the patient to maintain confidentiality.  

Russ Vernon Jones blogs regularly on climate justice at www.RussVernonJones.org