The time was the early 80’s in Northern Idaho where I was working as a Charge Nurse at a large Nursing Home. We had just admitted a man who was dying, only to find out a day later that he was a hemophiliac…dying of Aids. Now back in the early 80’s there was not all the information out as there is today, let alone Universal Precautions in place to care for patients. We placed him in Isolation, which meant to go into his room you would have to gown, glove, and mask. Needless to say, you went into the room twice a shift to do vitals, and not much more. His family was intimidated and fearful of all the masks and gowns, and so stayed away, or stood in the doorway to talk to him. One particularly dark ,dreary day I was given report that he was slipping into a coma and would probably not live much longer. As I walked into his dark room to do my morning assessment, I felt overcome by saddness…sad because of his forced isolation through no fault of his own, since it was before blood for transfusions was checked for the HIV Virus…sad because of his uncomfortable, fearful family who couldn’t gather around him at this of need…and finally sad because I felt the entire staff had done a disservice to him by literally shunning him out of our own ignorance about the disease. He appeared to be in a coma, so I started to pray out loud softly, asking the Lord to grant him peace, and to tell him how much he was loved by his family. As I stood over his bed looking out the window at the dreariness suddenly bright sunshine completely filled the room..so suddenly that it startled me. I quickly looked at the man…his eyes were open, and he was smiling, this look of unspeakable peace on his face….He died a few hours later, with bright sunshine filling his bed… with that peaceful look still on his face.
Safetypinlove 