Hospital

Memories of Nurse Pina from Hospital

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I woke up in hospital. It was the morning of Monday, the tenth of May 2010. The day after I was diagnosed. The curtains were still drawn, but the room was glowing from the sunshine that was seeping in through the edges. I could hear the sound of morning rumblings coming from the open door to the left of my bed. The rumblings of moving breakfast carts, chatting nurses and ringing phones. Looking to my right, there must have been at least four, maybe six other beds in here.

The past day had been a complete blur. I remembered puffing and panting when I woke up yesterday morning. I remembered going to hospital. I remembered being told I had diabetes, and my heart sinking of guilt and self regret. And I remember Mum and Dad saying goodnight when the day was finally over. Those momentary lapses aside, I had spend the better part of yesterday asleep.

There were a lot of voices and discussions going on in the background yesterday, none of which I really had the energy to pay attention to. There were a lot of doctors and nurses that buzzed around throughout the day, and I think Mum and Dad did a lot of the talking for me. But this morning, I was feeling much better. My exhaustion was gone. My saliva and appetite was back. And I finally had the energy to get up and speak for myself. And Pina was the first person in that hospital that I could actually talk to.

Pina was so friendly as she came over and introduced herself. She thought I looked familiar, and we eventually began talking about where we might know each other from. As it turned out, we were both from Italian families. We both went to the same high school. We even lived in the same suburb. I used to love staring at lightposts, powerpoles and street signs as a kid, and she lived on a street that I could forever remember passing in the car. One of my favourite parks as a child also happened to be right behind Pina’s street.

The morning wore on, and there was some debate between Pina and her colleague over who would go to morning tea first. “You go first.” “No, you go first.” “I really don’t mind waiting, you go first.” You get the gist. By lunchtime, I was ready to be moved out of the high care ward. Pina followed me as I was wheeled to my new room. She kindly updated the nurse in my new ward, before saying goodbye. I thanked her for all her help, and she told me I was welcome to come back if I needed anything else during my stay. And that was the last time I saw her.

Would Pina be like this in front of every patient? I’d like to think so. Was I getting special treatment? Perhaps. I think in my case, it was just a refreshing change for Pina to have a young patient in that ward who made such a quick recovery. And for me, it was nice to meet a health care professional with such enthusiasm and dedication for her job, that I still remember to this very day.

Thanks, Gwen

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My diabetes educator, Gwen, was a fantastic support system for me in the initial months following my diagnosis. She was a very direct person, and had one of those strong voices that still rings clearly in my head today (even though I have not seen her in several months). She reminds me of one of those teachers who would challenge you by answering a question with another question and often leaving me stumped for a response. And although I absolutely hated it at the time, I know that she was only trying to help me to think for myself and solve the problem on my own. As Gwen would put it, her job was to teach me to think like a pancreas and make her role as my diabetes educator defunct.

Gwen was extremely understanding and never passed judgement. Although she was not a diabetic herself, she was very experienced in dealing with young adults like myself and often referred to her experiences being a pretend diabetic. She was extremely supportive and was even prepared to come to my defence after I walked out of a less-than-supportive endocrinologist appointment on the verge of tears (which you can read more about here). She always made time for me if I needed it – I can even remember her once squeezing me in for a quick chat during her lunch break!

Over the course of a few months, we covered all the basics like the role of insulin, hypos, hypers, sick days, travel, exercise, carb counting and making lots of adjustments to my insulin doses. If there was something that I wanted to help me manage my diabetes, Gwen would get it for me. Like an insulin pen that could dial half units. Software so that I could download my blood glucose results onto the computer. Books to record my blood glucose readings. And anything else she thought I might find useful.

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Within a couple of months, Gwen felt confident that I didn’t need her anymore. I did have a couple of bumps throughout that journey, but that probably belongs in another post. Its worth noting that at the age of 17, learning to manage my diabetes was much easier than if I was younger. I used to see young children in there with their school uniforms, parents and other siblings. I really do count myself lucky.

One piece of advice from Gwen that I really wish I didn’t ignore was finding and connecting with other people with diabetes. I really do wish I’d found the support of the Diabetes Online Community sooner. Hell, there should be a mandatory session dedicated to the DOC!

I’m forever grateful for our amazing public healthcare system here in Oz. Through that hospital outpatient clinic, I have had access to any sort of service I need to manage my diabetes – podiatry, optometrist, dermatologist, dietician – and I still do, to this very day! If only some of the waiting lists weren’t so long… As Gwen would say, getting through all of those d-related appointments in my first year would be the hardest. And it would have been much harder if I was lumped with the financial burden of all those appointments too.

I’m also forever grateful to Gwen. I fondly remember her comfort and support after that nasty endocrinologist appointment. I can remember Mum wanting to buy her a small gift on my first Christmas with diabetes just to thank her for all her support during that first year. Support that I can still remember and still appreciate to this very day. Thanks, Gwen.