Some Give All

Katherine, or Kat as her residents call her was a good nurse aide. In fact she was a great nurse aide. She never considered herself great she simply did her job and tried to be compassionate in a career that often made a person heartless. She went in every night and did all she could for her residents to retain what humanity she could give them.

tonight was no different. She and her partner made as many rounds as they physically could keeping the elderly dry on the bottom and hydrated on top. She took time out during what should have been lunches or breaks to spoon feed snacks like pudding or apple sauce to whomever she could. Tonight was a little rough one of her favorites was dying. There was nothing she could do. He was crossing over and she wished upon all wishes it wasn’t true. She sat bedside and held his hand. The death rattle was prevalent in the room. A tear ran down her cheek as she sang a soft lullaby hoping it would remove the poor man‘s fear of death. She ditched her duties to be by his side but her partner understood as often times come that one has to work solo. Kat squeezes the dying mans hand as he drew his last breath. Tears streaming down her face she went to the nurse’s station to give the news.

Kat joined her partner to finish the round but her heart was broken as it had been countless times. She did not have her normal smiles. She did not speak to her residents as she normally did. She mindlessly completed her work and did her best . She put her back into it since her heart was unable.

Once the round was finished her and her partner returned to the old man’s room to clean him up before the coroner arrived. It was something they did to maintain the dignity of their friends. They bathed him and shaved him and put his clothes on. Kat did this with tears streaming and the occasional sob catching in her throat. So much death lived here. So much sadness had to be swallowed for the sake of the other residents. Kat was always the first to hold their hand during death. She wished she was a god so she could save them all.

She spoke to her partner about all the history that died with these people. Many were war veterans. Some were previous nurses or aides. A few were once wealthy business owners. A variety of lifetimes took their last breath in these halls where they felt so much shame. The coherent were the saddest. They knew their days were limited and they knew that they no longer could control their body functions. Those that knew were embarrassed of their conditions but age takes its toll on all.

Kat finished her shift exhausted and spent as always. As she waved by to the breakfast area many called her their hero as she left for the day tired and heartbroken but still satisfied that she gave her all. She felt accomplished as she started her car for the hour drive home.

“I guess to these poor souls I am a hero,” she said to herself as she backed her car out of the parking spot.

she paused and looked at the building hoping none else would die soon. Her heart needed a break. She had two days off and as always her concern was for those residents. As much as she hated it she had to be the one to help them in their passing. She crossed her fingers against the steering wheel that they could wait for her to rest. She needed time to get her heartstrings back together and she needed to sleep to get her head on straight. It was such a hard life dealing with so much death and so much need.

She put her car in drive and headed home. She was listening to her favorite 80’s bands as she made her way through all the traffic lights. Singing at the top of her lungs letting the cheerful music wash the pain away. Her mood was improving when she saw the wreck happen. Two cars in front of her collided at an intersection and flames had already erupted.

Kat was certified in first aid and CPR but the Good Samaritan law protected her she was exhausted but someone might be hurt. She pulled to the side of the road and put her car in park.

Kat ran to the scene. The adults had minor injuries and some cuts and scrapes but a woman was screaming about her child. Kat looked in both cars and finally saw the toddler in the back seat of one car. The child was unconscious. Kat tried to reach the kid but could not squeeze through the mangled door area. She looked around trying to determine her best coarse of action.

The drivers side of the car was mangled and the passenger side was on fire. She tore the headrest off of her own car seat and used the steel pins to smash the rest of the windshield out. She pulled the mangled glass away. Her hands were covered In tiny cuts from the safety glass and her blood was dripping heavily by the time she crawled through to get to the child. The toddler was not breathing and was turning blue around his mouth. Katherine dragged him from the car and assessed him. Not breathing, turning blue, no apparent injuries. These thoughts ran through her mind rapidly.

”He is choking,” her mind screamed at her!

Kat laid the boy on his back and began compressions on his chest. She counted one, two, three and something exploded from his mouth clearing his air way. He began breathing again. A couple seconds passed and his eyes fluttered open. His mother ran screaming to him. She picked him up hugging him tightly screaming thank you and many other accolades to her son’s hero. Kat merely smiled. She had done her job again.

paramedics began to make their way through traffic with sirens wailing. Kat knew help was coming soon. She was so tired but felt so amazing that she was able to stave off death for at least one person. She cried again but this time it was tears of joy. She had done her duty as always and this time instead of singing her lullaby that ended a life she saved one. She surveyed the scene once more and was about to return to her car but made one mistake.

Kat stepped over the yellow line and never saw the truck that was speeding by with the drunk guy driving, but she fortunately felt no pain.