so i was getting morning report from the night nurse…and when she starts off “the patient is an inmate” you worry a little and jump to crazy ideas and assumptions. then she continues “the patient is in shakles and is secured to the bed, with 2 guards present” now you really get all ‘nervous-like’ wondering what the heck has this patient done? and finally she says “he is really nice though” hmmmm….

so i go and meet this patient wondering what kind of person i am about to encounter and he was in fact very pleasant and friendly. he didn’t look like a bad guy. he had several tattoos and scars to his upper body (which i found out later were bullet entrance/exit wounds and stab wounds) but looked very clean cut with a smile on his face. the guards didn’t seem to be bothered by me nearing his bed for my daily assessment so i relaxed a little…all the while acting like nothing was different in taking care of him vs my other ‘law-abiding’ patients.

he turned out to be my easiest patient but with the saddest story. he is sick with multiple myleoma and is about to undergo more chemo and radiation. i did find out via one of the guards that his unknown offense was not considered that serious/dangerous and that he should be getting out of jail soon. but unfortunately for him he has to contend with a different kind of jail after being released. the jail of being trapped in a body that is not getting any healthier, only sicker, and having to suffer the side affects of cancer treatments. i really did feel bad for the guy. it definetly made me realize we are all human. we all make mistakes. we all get sick. and it still SUCKS no matter where we come from!