The Nurse

We finally had the chance to find a donor for his cornea transplant though he wasn't that eager about the pending operation that he will be in. His doctor assured us, especially Dad, that it wouldn't hurt *that* much, and that it would only take an hour to complete. Mom was scared - I know, as I can see her faking a smile every now and then as she held Dad’s hand to comfort him that it will be alright.

It was a Saturday afternoon when we brought him to the hospital for his scheduled transplant and the doctor asked us to wait outside. Mom was anxious since it was the first time Dad had to be brought to the hospital since time immemorial.

After an hour and a half, Dad came out with both of his eyes covered with eye pads. He knew Mom would be watching so I thought his smile was just to assure Mom that he was fine. The doctor told us that the operation went well, and that he was supposed to be sent home. However, they needed to make sure that everything went well since the procedure they used on Dad was new so he had to stay in the hospital for the night.

Dad wanted to object, but Mom said that “it was fine” since she doesn't want to worry much about Dad’s eyes getting irritated or something.  The doctor said he will be removing the eye pads the next day and made Dad promise to neither scratch nor touch his eyes to avoid infection. Dad just nodded as he asked us to go home and rest.

The next morning as we waited for the doctor, Dad seemed fine as he told me that his nurse kept him entertained last night, how they both shared stories, and that he was well attended to. He also told me that his nurse didn't leave his room when he told him he was scared being alone, especially now that he couldn't see anything.

 I felt glad that he didn't get scared since he was basically blind, and that he had to stay on his bed all throughout the night alone trying to not touch his newly-operated eyes. I'm glad that there are still nurses who go beyond their line of service. It wasn't a long wait until his doctor arrived and prepared Dad’s papers. He removed the eye pads and all Dad said was his sight was “as good as new”.

While I was signing his insurance papers as Dad waited in the lobby, I asked the nurse-on-duty to thank the nurse who stayed with my Dad during his stay. The woman gave me a puzzled look as she told me that there was no one with Dad last night, and that she was the only one who was on shift since her replacement was out sick.