Grace and Mercy

I have many interactions with patients that are super fun. Like the one kid with a brain injury who answered, "Mitt Romney" when I asked him who was the quarterback for the Denver Broncos.(At the time, it was Tim Tebow)Or the 6 year old little girl who asked me if I was nocturnal. Those are stories I love to share. They make me grin and remind me why I love being a pediatric nurse. Then there's the patient I have tonight. He doesn't make me grin. He makes my jaw clench, my adrenaline spike and my heart dance a faster lub-dub. And it's frustrating as hell. This kid has not had the best life and on top of that, he was just dealt an even crappier hand that landed him in the hospital. And we have been TRYING to help him adjust to this new situation, and he wants none of it. He's got the worst attitude, his speech is peppered with the f word, and he denies even the simplest of cares. You know what we nurses want to do? We want to do nursing cares! And he doesn't allow us. You just want to bang your head against a wall. And going into his room is like walking into a lion's den. Here's the thing though, the thing I'm still learning and not quite getting right - Jesus loves him. Jesus died on the cross for him. So when he's hurling his insults, calling me the "mother" of all insults, I have to rememeber Grace and Mercy, Grace and Mercy. I would love to say I get it right all of the time. Heck, I'd love to say I get it right half of the time - I don't. I'm getting it wrong mostly. And then I think, Grace and Mercy, Grace and Mercy - for me.