Sunday, March 2, 2008

Chronicals of a NICU Nurse

The last few days I've been feeling down in the dumps. At the same time I am feeling extremely selfish for having these feelings. You all know what I do for a living. I work as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse. My work can be very emotionally challenging at times and also very rewarding at others. Sat. morning I drove home from work in tears, thoughts just raced through my head. My heart was aching for the pt. I just left. Its so hard to leave work when your patient is so critical, I feel I can't or shouldn't leave, I feel I need to stay, its not fare that I get to leave and just carry on with life, go home and play with my perfectly healthy boys, its like having unfinished business. Its so hard to run your ass off for 12hours straight exhausting all the energy I have in effort to help save a baby, a life that has barley begun and so close to ending. You have to be strong, you have to numb yourself from the constant sobbing you hear a few feet from yourself, a mother, begging, pleading with God, with anybody, to let her first born, her only child survive. The baby they have tried for years to get and now here it is weighing just over a pound. Its so hard when I can see my own boys lying there, I try not to but I do think about it, it does happen. The baby blue in color, bloated with edema, multiple foreign lines and wires connected to this little life, a machine the size of a full grown man breathing for the baby, a body the size of a dollar bill. Its chest vibrating from high frequency ventilation, so unnatural its disturbing, monitors beeping with alarm, decreasing heart rate and oxygen saturation's, a plummeting blood pressure, Parents sobbing and the baby getting more blue. I hate it when I look up and see the mother and tears build up in my own eyes, that large knot in my throat wont go away and the ache in my chest. I am so sad and yet my pain is nothing remotely close to what she is going trough. Its not easy seeing a baby in states that I have. I find it hard to talk to anybody about this. These feelings I have is why I have been feeling selfish, why should I be worried about my feelings ? These poor parents are losing their baby! But at the same time I cant help it. Prematurity is a problem that not too many people are aware of. I mean yeah, people know it exists but they haven't seen what I have seen. A lot of people think of a preemie as a 4-5 pound baby. To me, that's a huge baby! They haven't seen that baby weighing 500 grams (just over a pound ) in fluid volume overload, or cynotic because of lack of oxygen, their skin slothing off because its so premature its barley there. They don't know what NEC is (where the bowel dies and can perforated its contents into the abdominal wall causing a fatal infection) or seen that baby suffering through the infection in will to survive. Or worse of all a baby taking its last breath. I don't wish anybody ever to have to see these things, its just hard to talk about my experiences when nobody has been in my shoes. Its like the parents who lost the babies, Nobody knows their pain, nobody. Your probably thinking if I cant handle my job I should find another? It's not like that at all, it just adds up over time and you need to get it all out, like my good cry on the ride home sat. morning. The greatest times are seeing a 23wk baby born with her eyes fused shut, open them one at a time for the first time, or helping a mother hold her baby for the first time when he is now 20 days old, seeing that micro preemie go home with its family after 120 long days in the NICU, getting updates from all the babies I've cared for, pictures, emails, phone calls, cards. Knowing I made a difference in someones life, knowing I have impacted them in a positive way in either a good or bad outcome , knowing I did all I could do for the sake of somebody else, that's why I do it.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, now you have me crying!!!

Jen- this is just another reason why you are my hero... :) Keep up the awesome work.

Anonymous said...

A friend send this to me and this is so true.
We are the parents of a baby girl born at 30wks weighing a mere 1 lb 12 oz. SHe was 13 inches long.
The NICU nurses at Good samariatain Hospital in Cincinnati Ohio are true angels. All NICU burses are angels!! It takes a special person to care for our babies born too soon.
She was my 3rd pregnancy and my only living child. Third times a charm I guess.
Thank you for all you do everyday!! Thank you for sharing your story! Thank you for being apart of something wonderful.
We are fundraising for the 4th yr for the March of Dimes.
www.walkforbabies.org/parents2abby or you can visit our myspace
mom2abbyrose and you can see her preemie pics and the now pics. Again thank you for being such an angel!
Kristy, Ray and Abby Team Abigail

gramma judy said...

you are an angel at your job i cried at the blog keep up the good work

2blessed2stress said...

Jen,

Ok take it from the momma of a NICU baby. Ashley wasnt a preemie, but she did spend a week in the NICU after her birth. I sent cards, pictures and prayers to Anna, her NICU nurse for YEARS after Ashley came home for the gift she helped give me! I know some of your pain, i watched twins in the isoletes around Ashley pass away one at a time. I dreaded going home because I knew it meant i had to walk back in there to different babies, and "know" that her other Crib mates didnt make it. I sobbed for them as well, because I was looking at my full term infant, knowing that it was just a matter of time before she'd be well enough to take her home. Most those other Parents never got that reassurance. So hugs to you friend of mine. Know that you're loved, and very blessed for what you do for those families! And yes, we even appreciate the tears ;) One of my biggest unsung heroes was the charge nurse that blasted my ex MIL because she was thinking only of her son, and not me. I was in awe of her power, her drive, and her willingness to stand up for the "underdog" which at the time was me! So thank you for what you do, every day. Never doubt that your feelings are justified, never doubt that those same feelings are what makes you the caring, compassionate, loving nurse those parents and babies so desperately need! Love you!!!!

graig and sara said...

We are VERY thankful for all the amazing care you gave to Kailyn during her 101 days in the NICU. NICU nurses are amazing, and we will NEVER forget your kindness, understanding, and friendship while we were at U of M. Keep up the great work, even on the hard days, and know that we preemie parents appreciate all you do for our precious angels.

The Buckley Family said...

Jen, reading this just brought huge tears to my eyes because most of the things you described were exactly what we went thru with our three little 26 week miracles in which YOU were one of their primary nurses. You did so much for those babies and we will be forever thankful for that. You truly resemble what a NICU nurse should be. And I think it's completely normal for you to have those feelings, without them you wouldn't be the exceptional nurse you are.

By the way, we visited the UofM NICU yesterday and I have to admit, it was so weird not seeing you there!

Anonymous said...

Ahhh Honey, you make me so proud. I don't know how you do what you do. As horrible as it was at the time, I wish people could have seen how distraught you were when you were coming home from Oakwood after a day of witnessing sub-standard care. It tore both of us up at the time, but it really demonstrated to me the level of commitment to your patients and your job that makes you such a fantastic nurse. I was so proud of your decision to stand up for what you thought was right and to walk away from that job.

As a matter of fact, I miss you. I think I'll go visit you upstairs.