From the vein to the candy

I’m not a professional writer, and I’m not fully fluent in English either, but I’m here to write — for myself, and for you. I’ll be happy if you read my stories and share your thoughts with me.

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In the firs days of his admission, he was very ill-tempered. A ten-year-old boy, weighing eighty-five kilos, had been hospitalized with kidney failure. He wasn't urinating. His blood pressure never went below 150 and his arms were bruised from top to bottom. The first time I wanted to insert an IV, I went to his room myself because he couldn't walk. I smiled and greeted him warmly, explained carefully what I was going to do, hoping it would ease his tension.

but as soon as he saw me, he said, "Oh great, you'r here to practice IVs on me again so you can learn?" I was caught off guard. What surprised me even more was his mother's silence. She made no effort to excuse her son's rudeness. And she just gave a slight smile that only seemed to encourage her son’s cheeky attitude even more. With plenty of experience in my job and after seeing many sick children, I knew that this patient was going to be difficult. If he wanted to resist, I wouldn't be able to handle him physically, and the ward was too busy for anyone to help me. So I had tow option: talk gently or be firm. Looking at him and his mother's faces, I saw no chance for friendship. So calmly but firmly said: "kid, even if I wanted to bother you, I wouldn't have time. So don't say anything, don't move your hand and let me just do my job." And I did. Painlessly, No complaints, No thank-you not from the boy, not from his mother. But that wasn't unusual and I didn't expect it.

It wasn't a good start. I knew this patient would be with us for a while, and our first encounter definitely didn't go well.

But in the following days, I kept trying to get closer to him. I spoke kindly, sometimes using childish words, and sometimes talking to him like an adult.

One time, I tried to check his blood pressure, but he was drowsy and irritable and wouldn’t let me wrap the cuff around his arm. I joked and said: "No matter how cheeky you are- I'm even cheekier. I'll put you in your place." And I did it anyway. He laughed for the first time and said: "let's see who's the real boss."

Another day I said: "I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you. Wanna hear the good news first or the bad one?" He fixed his gaze on my mouth. I continued: "your surgery is cancelled and you can eat. Bad news- lunch time is over." His eyes lit up and said: "That's ok, I'll have bread and cheese. This is the best news I've heard, auntie."

One day he was strolling around the ward, sucking on a lollipop. I took it from him playfully and said: "why do you have a lollipop and I don't?" He popped it in his mouth again, and said nothing.

Today he went to another hospital for surgery. But once again it was postponed. He came back after hours of waiting and fasting. Hungry, tired and frustrated. As his mother pushed his wheelchair down the hallway to his room, he said: "Mom, wait, wait a sec." He took a lollipop out of his pocket, handed it to me, said: "Is it even possible for me to have a lollipop and not share it with you? I just can’t do that." and went on.

Yes... finally we became friends.