Friday, July 8, 2016

Patients That Changed My Life: Wheelchair and Oxygen

As a nurse, I have the chance to meet a lot of people from all walks of life. Some are fun, some are not so fun. Then there are those that change my life, and changed the kind of nurse I am. For privacy purposes, I won’t use real names, but I want to tell you their stories.

To read about previous patients, click here

Before I was a nurse, I worked as a caregiver in an assisted living, and as a food server in a retirement home. That’s what got me through high school and college. While I was a food server, we had a very sweet couple who sat at the same table every night. When I asked them what they wanted for dinner, they would order, and then the husband would lean close to me and say “And we want a fruit plate. To share.”

He was a war veteran, who had an amputated leg at the knee, and used a wheelchair to get around. She was able to walk, but she had a hard time breathing, so she always wore oxygen. Whenever they went anywhere, she pushed his wheelchair, and he held her purse while her oxygen tank hung on the back of his chair.


They were my relationship goals. They were so devoted to each other, even after all their years, and with all of their illnesses, they used their strengths to support one another. Together, they were stronger than they would have been apart.

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