Something to Think About - You Always Have The Option
It was her day off. Last minute her Mom asked for a favor and she agreed. She had planned on a day of shopping with her daughters, but they were good going in the afternoon.
Her Mom had taught for 40 years and retired the previous spring. Her Mom was done teaching, but wasn’t done working. She liked working with food, meeting people, and keeping busy. A part-time job in the breakfast room of a motel fit the bill. She worked Tuesday through Thursday, but this week, she agreed to fill in for the person who worked Saturday mornings. Shortly after she agreed to do so, she was asked to come back to her school to help with a Saturday morning kindergarten program. Her Mom really wanted to help, so she agreed to sub for her.
She showed up at the hotel at 5:30 AM. Her Mom had left careful instructions, and she had come for a walk through on Thursday. She was actually looking forward to it; it would be something different for her.
By 6:15 she had everything prepared and out. The night manager checked in and she confirmed that everything was ready. The room was open from 6:30 to 9:30. She poured herself some coffee and waited for the first guests to arrive. From 6:30 to 8:30, it was a steady line, and she was able to keep up. Periodically, the day manager checked in and at one point commented, “Your Mom prepared you well; thanks for filling in!”
Things took a bit of a turn about 9:15. An older guy came in, announcing his presence with a brisk, “Is there table service?” The breakfast room sub said no, that it was all self-serve. With an unpleasant grunt, he grabbed a plate and started through the line. He complained that the scrambled eggs looked dried out, and that there wasn’t much bacon left. The sub said she’d make more eggs and bring out more bacon, to which the older man snapped, “It should have already be here; do you know what you’re doing or what?”
Ignoring the comment, she refreshed the eggs and the bacon, and asked, “Is there anything else I can get you.” The response was somewhere between unpleasant and down right rude. “No, it’s clear you don’t know what you’re doing, so just be quiet so I can sit here and watch the TV in peace.” Figuring this guy’s day had gotten off to a rather rough start, she left him alone!
Then it happened, the older guy began banging on the table, with both hands. His face was bright red, and then began turning blue. He was choking!
The sub quickly approached. In her typical calm yet purposeful manner she began working on the choking victim, with the most current protocols of what had once been called the Heimlich maneuver. When the obstructive matter had been cleared, the older man, gasped for air and his color began to improve, but his breathing was labored, and he was highly agitated. Noticing the distress that her “patient” was showing, and other symptoms that she readily recognized, the sub asked the manager to place an immediate 911 call.
The paramedics recognized the breakfast room sub, when they arrived. The patient was stabilized, but was still in need of some additional care and a thorough examination. The sub rode to the hospital with the patient. Enroute, she placed a call to the ER, had a team waiting for their arrival, and carefully briefed them on the situation. You see, she was no longer a breakfast room sub for her Mom. She was at that point back in her full-time line of work—physician’s assistant (PA) in the emergency department (ED) of the regional hospital.
The patient’s physical condition had improved, but his attitude remained as sour as it had been before the incident happened. Be that as it may, this sub turned PA rendered the same kind, pleasant, and reassuring care, and showed the same empathetic compassion, as if she had been caring for a member of her own family.
A new nurse in the unit commented to the PA about that patient’s attitude. The PA’s response was quick and genuine. It showed the kind of person she is and the kind of person everyone should strive to be.
“He was having a bad day. How he treated me was on him; there wasn’t much I could do about that. I could control how I treated him; that was totally on me. And like my Mom taught me as a child, I try to treat others the way I want to be treated.”
Not everyone follows the Golden Rule, but you always have the option!