[A U.S. born Latina wearing nurse’s scrubs and a name tag that reads, “Rosa Hernandez.”)
“People think being a nurse is pretty straight-forward… you just help whoever needs help.
But sometimes is not that simple.
Like once, when I had this patient, an old Mexican widower who seemed very distinguished despite being in the final stages of dementia… There wasn’t much we could do for him, just make him feel comfortable while he was with us.
When his condition worsened and he became violent, the only solution was to keep him sedated…
From that point on, he seemed to forget English and only spoke in Spanish. This was a big problem for his children because none of them spoke a lick of it…
So when one of them saw my name, they grabbed me and asked me to translate.
But despite all appearances, I barely speak Spanish and only half understand it.
They seemed so desperate though… I couldn’t refuse.
So I listened to the old man, caught a word here and there, like “agua” or “frío” and then I made up the rest.
When his time came, we reduced the sedatives so he could say goodbye to his children… Oh, and did he ever!
Again, I’m not that confident about my Spanish, but I could swear he was saying how angry he was at them, how lonely he had felt the last years of his life, how ignored…
He had especially harsh words for his older son, whom I’m pretty positive he called the disappointment of his life.
To be fair, it was hard to tell if he really meant what he was saying, or if it was the drugs and dementia talking.
He rambled on for a while until he passed.
His children immediately asked me what his last words meant… So I told them: “He wanted you to know he loved you very much.”
They were all very thankful… especially his older son.
And that’s why I say my job’s not that simple…
I’m not sure who I helped that day.”
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Copyright Abel Gonzalez 2016