Thursday

...of Classified Dignity

Need to play catch up?

After the first surgery, I did not need pain medication. Of course I was in pain, but it was bearable. Well, maybe I had been too proud of myself for not needing the pain medication on the first time, because pain taunted my body the second go round. Therefore, I readily accepted the Morphine they offered! Slumber overcame me but condensation interrupted it. I awoke with a concern for the wet condition I was in. At first thought, I assumed that I started perspiring. However, I noticed that only the bottom portion of my body was saturated. “Oh no! Surely I didn’t pee on myself!” I thought. But sure enough, upon a more detailed investigation…

Now I’ve not mentioned to you all about this thing I deal with called humility. Oh yeah, it’s true, the Lord is longsuffering with me in this area, however, He does not ignore it. I was not about to have anyone know that I’d wet the bed! So I decided that it would be best for me to just try to go back to sleep. Of course, this proved to be uncomfortable so I thought maybe I could place a few paper towels in the bed to cover the soaked spot and flare my gown outward so that I would not be lying on it. Didn’t work. Finally, in shame, I pressed the call button. A nurse walks in and I was horrified, IT-WAS-A-MAN!!! I had no idea that a shift-change occurred during my siesta. Cheerfully, he asked, “What can I do for you Mrs. Norvell?” Oh the horror…

Full of pride, as if it were no big deal, I asked if loosing control of one’s bladder was a side effect of Morphine. Delicately and still smiling, he asked if I needed my sheets changed. With my head slightly bowed in shame, I said that I did and thanked him. I had not been cleared to shower yet so my nurse told me that I should just clean “the affected area” at the sink. When I came from the bathroom, (after MUCH contemplation on taking cover there until he left my room), the nurse was putting the last sheet on the bed and he explained to me that Morphine has quite a few side effects and everyone responds differently.

Okay, so was he telling me that I’m the only 27-years-old, (at the time), human who has urinated in their bed? Or was he just trying to offer some consolation? Hmmmmm…

Either way, I felt it was my duty to inform him that this incident had taken place during my slumber! I tell ya, talk about a delicate ego! I recoiled back to the bed, but in fear of another mishap, I fought forty winks and definitely did NOT request any more Morphine for the remainder of my stay!

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” Proverbs 16:18-19 NIV

12 comments:

  1. GOD does have a way of keeping us humble. Thank you for sharing your experience. We all need to be reminded of our need to be humble....
    Blessings, andrea

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  2. I remember how my Mom had serverely injured her back. Her normally fast pace became a shuffle. I moved back home for a few weeks to help her. She had a hard time getting up. She needed to go to the bathroom and on the way she just could walk any faster and two feet from the bathroom she wet herself. She was horrified. More so because my Mom is a nurse, she had seen this in her career and didn't give it a second thought when it happened to a patient. But now it was her. I was there thank goodness, because she would not have been able to clean the floor or the lower portions of her legs and feet.
    She kept saying how sorry she was. I said Mommie please I am sure when you changed my diapers you dealt with worse than this and more often than this. It helped her. It taught me we are never too good to help or too good to need help.

    God bless you!

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  3. *smile*... good writing! I could feel the horror and shame along with you when the male nurse came in!

    hope you're better soon

    (((hugs))
    Vonnie

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  4. Larie: You are a dear. Thank you for sharing your soul with us. May the Lord honor you as you have honored Him with your humble heart.
    love,
    Jen
    Audience of ONE

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  5. OH dear .....humility is a tough one isn't it!? Rest assured they have seen it all in hospitals so wetting the bed is NO BIGGIE except to the wetter ;)
    Oh the steps we go through to obtain humility!
    thanks again and oh ya, don't fret about taking the test.....its all good! and amazing what you learn! PROMISE!

    love ya

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  6. Oh my dear friend, I feel for you. I would have been hesitant as well, but somehow our personal comfort at times like that just has to prevail. Humility can be hard to dig around for, I do know that. :)

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  7. Will you still love me if I tell you I'm laughing at this?
    Because if you won't, well, I just won't tell you I'm laughing. OK??? *grin*
    When I had my brain surgery, and after they had taken out the catheter, I had to go to the bathroom - but they didn't want me to get out of bed. I told them I could, and wanted to! The nurses (women!) told me I could just go in the bed. They put a pad under me and said to just "let it go."
    But I couldn't.
    One nurse in particular was super sweet and assured me it would be OK. But I simply could not do it.
    (Your pride didn't want to admit you'd done it, mine wouldn't let me do it!)

    Eventually, someone helped me to the bathroom and everything was OK. But that was a very weird thing for me - I really could NOT pee in the bed! LOL

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  8. I'm finding we, too, are alike. Thanks for being so open.

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  9. Oh my! I would have been embarrassed too!!! But I'm sure he's seen worse....LOL

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Y'all's comments are overwhelmingly encouraging. I appreciate them very much. They motivate me to continue being myself. Smooches!