We got into the car, and with my Bluetooth connected, were assaulted with Christian gospel music.
My husband raised an eyebrow at me. He’s used to my rambling taste in music but this was new.
I grinned. “That was for my patient.”
Miss Mary came in every two weeks for chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. 77 years old, she rarely complained, but I did catch her wincing a few weeks ago. After a lot of probing it appeared she had a lot of pain which didn’t respond to Tylenol or ibuprofen.
I prescribed 5mg
of oxycodone for her, and she had reported that it worked well and she only took it during severe pain attacks.
But then she came in for chemo and the pains arrived. She didn’t have her oxycodone with her and we don’t have it in the clinic.
I gave her Tylenol and hot packs.
When she said that at home she usually lies down flat until the pain ends, I stretched out her armchair fully.
90 pounds didn’t work well to keep her armchair flat, so I settled my rear end near her head to keep the chair reclined with my weight.
She laughed through her pain.
The Tylenol-hotpack-recliner trifecta didn’t help. I pulled out my last resort and asked one of my staff nurses to close the radio she usually played in the infusion room.
“What is your favorite music?” I asked Miss Mary.
She smiled with her eyes closed. “Richard Smallwood.”
I turned it on and the room was filled with Christian gospel music.
Within minutes the lines on her face eased, and I eased off her recliner to get back to work.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.