Hope

Hope. It’s something we all cling to; something we know is imperative to our very existence on this earth, something that without is detrimental to our soul. Hope comes in various forms. Hope that our past wounds will heal, hope that the future will become better, hope that our loved ones health will improve, hope that you’ll find another job…………all these things involve hope that life will somehow get better. Hope usually deals with the future. Oh sure, it can be based on the past, but its focus is on the future no matter how far off in the distance it is. Hope that a mother who miscarried in the past will have a successful, full-term pregnancy. Hope that old childhood emotional scarring will heal so a life can be lead without bars.

Hope also involves vulnerability. Sometimes people strive to maintain a sense of hope when they are at the end of their rope. They focus on hope because it is all they have. In a vulnerable state hope can see a person through extremely tough times. It is a source of comfort, a glimmer of a positive ending like a cup of warm coffee on a bitterly cold day. But how does a person attain hope when they feel none in the current moment? And why is it so important to have hope?

If a person loses their sense of hope, their drive for production, for improvement, their focus on the love of life is completely lost. Essentially, the hopeless person thinks, “What’s the point?” What a heart wrenching place to be. It is with countless people in these hopeless, vulnerable moments that my life collides with theirs in the emergency department. And surprisingly, it’s not just the patients themselves, but often the family members at their bedside.

Although I come across hundreds and hundreds of people a week I still cannot shake the picture highlighting the haunting expression of hopeless face. Their eyes are sorrowful and heavy, often staring off in the distance. Their face seems elongated, clearly showing the heaviness resting upon it just as I’m sure their heart feels. Their shoulders are slumped forward as if they have been carrying a heavy burden for an extremely long distance. Their tone is hushed and broken, perhaps because speaking in a louder tone makes what is happening a truer reality. These people touch my very core, the very soul of who I am and I literally ache for them.

As part of a team who sees patients in the heat of the moment, when they are first diagnosed and receive initial treatment, I recognize that I have a role that can assist or hinder any patient and family. I can choose to be obscure and not give answers, or I can educate and involve patients in their health choices. The only time it is extremely hard to give answers is when the outcome is not optimal. This is where the hope part comes in. It is an art, of which I have not yet mastered, to explain a difficult situation that will likely not have a happy ending to patients & their families all while still giving them a sense of hope. If they have no hope that their parent, brother, aunt or child will get better, their spirit cries out, “What’s the point?” When hope is gone, healing comes to a screeching halt.

People must also realize that medicine is not fool proof. I have witnessed patients walk out of the hospital when they should have died within the first 24 hours. I have seen premature infants fight for life and win against all odds. I have seen cancer-riddled people become determined to fight a hard battle and despite statistics, they WON! I have seen groups of people rally together and pray throughout hospital corridors only to see amazing results take place. Miracles happen every day………but they seem to happen when people have hope.

My goal as one of the first faces of the medical team you will encounter is to treat you with dignity and respect all while instilling a sense of hope within your spirit. Not unrealistic hope because that would be counterproductive, but instead instill a level of hope that will keep you fighting for the future. Hope is necessary for healing both physically and emotionally. Please know that when you are in a nurse’s care, we desire with everything in us to help you in your most vulnerable moments. If we fail, remember we are human……but truthfully, we strive to assist you in any way possible. That is what we do. We are nurses: hope instillers.