Anyone have a life changing story in medicine to share?

@bevvy22 (279)
United States
April 19, 2008 11:35pm CST
Does anyone have an awesome life changing story to share that you have experienced while working in the medical field? (Without breaking HIPPA laws and no names mentioned of course!) I have one that makes me cry everytime I tell it. It should at least give you goose bumps if you read it. I am a CMA(Certified Medical Assistant). Prior to this career, I was a Phlebotomist in a rather large hospital for 14 years. A Phlebotomist is someone who specializes in proper collection of blood from any patient ranging from newborns to geriatric. Anyway, This particular hospital I worked in was a Women and Children's hospital. There was of course a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at this facility. Very sick babies in-deed. My job was to go to this unit and draw blood from these babies every morning before the doctors came in for am rounds. There was one particular baby that was only 1 month of age. She was born with multiple medical problems from the beginning. She was so beautiful. Every morning I would go in there to perform my job but couldn't help but stare at her and hold her tiny fingers and say a silent prayer over her. She was on a ventilator and had tubes and IV's everywhere. Her parents got to know me and they were wonderful parents. She was their 2nd child. She was in there about a total of 2 weeks. She had several surgeries and there was nothing else doctors could do to save her. She was unresponsive and brain dead. One morning I came in at my usual time to get her blood, and the parents were standing there holding each other and crying. My first reaction was to go to them and invite myself in to a group hug. I asked them no questions, but obviously it wasn't good news. After we pulled apart, the mother said to me that they were just told that they needed to make an important decision within the next few hours. There was another baby almost the exact age in another state that was having trouble staying alive and desperately needed a heart. They asked me what did I think? My answer was simple. God blessed you with this beautiful child. But her whole purpose here on Earth may have been to save another. Yes, I would donate her heart. Unfortunately it was too late for their precious gem, but another life was saved in her place. They made another family very grateful. This was the biggest gift they could give anyone, but what a sacrifice!!! That afternoon, her heart was placed in a cooler and put on a plane and sent to Texas for its new life. I happen to run into the same couple roughly 1 year later. They were pregnant and her pregnancy was going very well. She was there to deliver their new baby. It's stories like these that make me love my job. Even though I was just a mere Phlebotomist, I had the opportunity to be with patients and their families first hand. You get attached so easily. This changed my life in such a way that I became an organ donor ever since that happened.
1 response
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
23 Apr 08
That is such a beautiful and insperational story. Thanks for sharing it.
1 person likes this
@bevvy22 (279)
• United States
24 Apr 08
I am glad that you found it inspirational. Thanks for taking the time to read it and comment on it.
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
24 Apr 08
Your very welcome.