My sister is such a workaholic. Or maybe I should call her a very dedicated doctor lol. She insisted on changing her patient's dressing herself, even on her off days, just to make sure that it's cleaned properly etc. So today, she dragged me along (with the promise of lunch afterwards) and so, there I was.. waltzing into a medical ward after years of non-clinical work.
Now, I wasn't quite planning on going to the ward either but okaaayyy. It was either wait in the car, under the hot sun (with the air conditioning on of course.. but we all know that's not the best scenario) or follow her up to the ward. My sister kindly reminded me that HKL isn't like HUKM where I used to work - it won't be as comfy or have air conditioning in there. Oh well, I still chose the latter.
So there I was.. in my 4 inch strappy black heels and red + black striped dress, following her from one ward to another. And then, *pause for dramatic effect*
She made me assist her. Change. The. Dressing.
It was an open and hollow wound, about 2-3 inches diameter 1 inch deep which she's been talking about for days, for crying out loud!
Anyway, it would have been awkward being left behind by the patient's bed while my sister suddenly went off to get gauze, sterile set.. yada yada. I look at the patient, she looks at me, her daughter looks at me.. *gulp*
Ok, let's do this.
I smile and start making utterly random conversation. As it appears, I'm still decently good at it. Phew. I have always believed that when you treat someone, you treat their wounds and also their spirit. It doesn't hurt to cheer your patients up. A little goes a long way guys.
Long story short, I really did assist my sister clean the wound and change the dressing by passing whatever she needs to her, pouring out more Dermacyn, etc. As a pharmacist, I'm not trained to physically handle the patients so I didn't.. I just did other things.
I learnt something about myself today though. Surprisingly, I am not squeamish when faced with wounds, not if they're right in front of my eyes. However, if I were to look at the photos (which I took) retrospectively, I feel a little bit weak. Huhu.
I should have asked the patient's daughter to send me the photos that we took :) Anyhow, I hope that lovely lady makes a full recovery, and soon. Be strong! Aja aja, fighting!
Nad signs off. Til next time,
xoxo~
