We have this physical therapist at the hospital who is just so damn good at her job. She shows up early in the morning and pushes patients to move. She is able to get those little old ladies who refuse to get out of bed for everyone else up and walking down the hall. She gives people what they need: a swift kick in the ass (figuratively, not literally). For this reason many patients hate to see her coming into their room because they know she will make them work hard.
The other morning I had a patient who was previously living independently and now claimed to be "too weak" to get out of bed. She would call for us to pull up her blankets and to raise or lower the head of her bed. I quickly grew weary of this behavior and started to challenge her.
"Who pulled up your blankets for you at home?" I would ask. She pretended not to hear me.
I saw the physical therapist coming down the hall and was thrilled to hear she would be visiting my patient. I went into the room, turned on all the lights and informed my little old lady that she would be getting out of bed and walking before breakfast.
Needless to say, she was not thrilled.
I left and allowed the therapist space to work. About five minutes later she was out at the nurses station documenting in the computer. The patient had flatly refused to get out of bed. This left me and the physical therapist frustrated because without getting out of bed this patient was going to rapidly deteriorate.
I went back to the patient's room and questioned her. She told me that she was too weak to walk and just couldn't do it.
"You know if you don't walk there is no way you will ever be able to return home by yourself," I informed her.
"Fine. Just put me in a nursing home."
I could see she was giving up and that there was little I could do to have an impact in the five minutes I had left in my shift.
I passed on to the day shift nurse what had occurred that morning. I suggested that she try to at least get her up to a chair for meals and to start using the bedside commode rather than a bedpan.
"If you need to, just get yourself a whip. That should get her moving," I suggested
Because sometimes it takes a whip (literally, not figuratively).
