Hey
I dag er det en uke siden jeg kom hjem til Norge med ambulanse fly fra USA. Ferien ble naturlig nok ikke helt som planlagt med mine 13 dager på Tennessee University Medical Center i Knoxville, Tennessee.
Legene, sykepleierne, fysioterapeutene og de andre som jeg møtte der var alle helt fantastiske. De var empatiske, dyktige, forståelsesfulle og viste en omsorg jeg så inderlig trengte da jeg virkelig var på mitt mest sårbare.
En av legene som hadde overordnet ansvar for meg og legene som behandlet meg brukte mye tid på rommet mitt. Mere tid enn hun hadde trengt å gjøre.
Min historie og mitt liv inspirerte henne. At jeg var hjertetransplantert og jeg var enken etter Toivo som ble organdonor ga henne lysten til å dele min historie. Jeg legger ved innlegget hun skrev. Viktigheten med Organdonasjon er så stor. Vi bør alle snakke med våre nærmeste om våre ønsker. Sånn at skulle det verste skje, slik det gjorde med meg ifjor, så er valget kanskje bitte-litt lettere. Si det for å bli det folkens.
– Katie
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
> While “losing” a patient at discharge, I gained a friend.
On Monday, January 15,2024, I started the longest week of hospital medicine I have worked in some time. I may be whining a little because I picked up a team with 16 patients and 3 new interns joining on the same day as me. Not only would it be a long day because of snow, but because I am slow. I first met my Norwegian patient about 8 pm. I walked in seeing she was sitting up in bed wearing her oxygen tubing. I smiled and said, “You have a great view of the snow, are you enjoying it?” “Not really.” she replied, “I am used to snow like this.” I asked, “bet you are tired of being in the hospital?” Dumb question. It was day 8 for her. She not only wanted out of the hospital, she wanted to go home–to Norway!
> I saw her a little earlier in the day on Tuesday. She was more relaxed and I learned it was because the nurses discovered she liked watercolors and had provided enough items for her to paint at her whim. My intern commented that he really liked her. I figured it was because she was wearing some Kentucky Blue shirt knowing he graduated from UK last year. Whatever the deeper reason, his interest in her care spurred me on.
> Wednesday was the day I pulled up a chair and sat for a spell. I was impressed with her watercolor. I said it was a great painting of a PUFFIN. She said, “Thanks, it is a penguin.” Well, I am not a trained art critic so I bowed to her description.
> She opened up as I sat down again on Thursday. I asked about her painting and she shared that she had picked up water colors after her surgery in 2019. By the way, one of the things so remarkable to the intern was she was his first patient who is a recipient of a heart transplant. In almost 37 years of medicine, she was my first as well.
> I wanted to know more but didn’t want to be rude, it needed to matter to her as well for us to know her story. She warmed up to telling more of her story and I have her permission to share. She was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital anomaly of the heart. She went to surgery within her first month of life and numverous other times to correct issues with her heart as they arose. Her mom told me she was fed by tube-feeding until she was 2. It was my patient’s tenacity even at an early age that allowed her to live well despite obstacles. She has also survived ovarian cancer! However, the wear on her corrected heart took its toll when finally she needed a new heart to survive into her 40’s. While recouperating from her amazing, life-giving srgery, it was suggested she try watercolors. The therapy derived from allowing her “creative juices” to flow was apparently the correct path for my patient. Last year she illustrated a children’s book! Photo below. She said she would send me a copy as I became more animated looking over her artwork. “It’s in Norwegian,” she added, looking at me like I would turn it down simply because I can’t read her native language. “Well, I hope I can follow the story based on your illustrations,” putting the onus on her work to keep me entertained. 😉 I spoke to a physician in Norway who was making the determination of how to transport my patient back to Norway. It was an interesting discussion and we agreed on his plan after filling him in on her current progress. I was thinking it would be a week or so before they could pull it together but I was wrong. Fortunately, on Friday I took her a Big Orange mug. She understood the good natured debate I had with my Kentucky intern. I wanted to know why she was in the US. This is where time spent with people make my job the best in the world. Her nurse was in the room when she told more of her history. Her husband of 16 years died last September 2023. She described his sudden illness which resulted in a fall with subsequent intracranial hemorrhage with rapid decompensation into a coma. His son and my patient were involved in the decision making such that when it was evident he could not/ would not survive despite intensive life support, the decision was made to abide by her husband’s wish to be an organ donor. WOW! He had enjoyed life with his wife before her heart surgery. He stood by her side and sat by her bed for months on end in the perioperative period. Then he enjoyed living again with her a new woman after she received a heart. He saw the importance of organ donation and had made it so clear to all that his family knew it was the right thing to do. My patient said her husband was a loving man who enjoyed life to the fullest. . “He was by my side through three heart surgeries, the cancer, the heart failure and many other health issues. He was my rock.” She is convinced that out of the tragedy they experienced, something good had also been done for the better. His heart, corneas, lungs, and kidneys were all successfully transplanted to people in need. He literally gave life to at least 4-5 people and sight to 2 more. Her husband’s amazing gift of himself has motivated my patient to become even more of an advocate for organ donation. I am in awe of the quiet heroism of so many folk who each day choose the good. You cannot tell by looking at her that she is an “organ receiver”. You cannot tell her life experiences by just seeing a face or even listening to her heart. But when we pause and listen, the world opens up. My intern’s admiration of her tenacity means he picked up important things he ought to know about his patient and it is not just her vital signs.
He died just before his 50th birthday, an occasion for which she had planned a huge celebration. Although plans were to go for the birthday party, her American friend, Amy flew over for his funeral. A couple of months later, it was obvious my patient needed to “get away” because of the sadness and grief bearing down on her. She and Amy made plans to travel from Miami up to Ohio and back through to Pigeon Forge. While passing back through Knoxville, she required hospitalization and when she was transferred out of the ICU, she came to my team.
When the resident called notifying me she was being discharged Saturday evening, that transport would take her to the airport at 4 pm for a chartered flight back home, I was both thrilled for her and a bit sad because selfishly I wanted to see the watercolor puffin she was working on. Ok, I am not that shallow, plus I can look at the book illustrations! Sunday morning rounds were interrupted by a sound I knew was WhatsApp. She sent a message saying she was home! I am so happy that she was assigned to my team. I’m happy she sent photos on WhatsApp. She is now out of the hospital in Oslo and back home.
May you be blessed and while considering your blessings, sign that organ donation line and let others know your wishes.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
