OMG! Today’s session (well technically yesterday as it is now after midnight) was very intense! We just ended our talk in the lobby with Steven and his wife about their documentary “Bleed Out”. I’d previously viewed it on HBO but seeing it again with my new (hopefully lifelong) colleagues was powerful and intense! I remember watching it at home & being so outraged and astounded by what happened to them & Judie Burrows. Her name will live on forever and has forever changed my life! I spoke with David after the viewing and I personally have a lot of soul-searching to do as I now question my own practice and values! Not my personal practice but being a part of a system that has been broken for a long time and continuing to condone such atrocities! Then yesterday hearing from Jack & Regina & about Lewis just drove home how truly f’ed up things are. I realized a long time ago that like most things in life, it all comes down to money. I still don’t understand the power of the lack of value on a human life over a dollar. I see this so much in healthcare and I’m the type that I want to do something now and I want it to happen immediately. Usually that just gets people to shut down because there are ladders and rules to communication and hierarchies, despite how much the evidence is right in front of you or obvious even to the janitor that must be followed. To the pharmacist who shared the story about her father and the nurse that shared the story of her sister and Mr. Real who spoke about his father, thank you too for sharing your stories and journeys. I must say that as a nurse, your parents and loved ones, especially the ones who do not have an advocate or family at the bedside at all times, drive my practice and compassion as nurse and I truly LOVE what I do! I cannot wait to see how our trip to Arlington plays into this tomorrow but I have an idea! Thank you to all of you who make things like this possible for someone like me who may not otherwise have gotten this experience. It has been truly amazing and life-changing & something that I carry with me always as a humble reminder should I ever need one!
