The bed was empty; the room was still and lifeless. The light shone through the window the room was dark. Unable to move, my heart was heavy and my eyes were tired as I tried to grasp the realization of what happened. The room was so quiet it hurt my ears; it felt as if the weight of the world was upon my shoulders. Flashbacks to an old lady lying in bed, calling me “Nurse” ran through my mind over and over until I could not bear to think anymore. I was drain, emotionally and physically exhausted. My body was numb, standing there staring at a vacant bed.
I knew it was going to happen, we were expecting it for awhile. The room was heavy and quiet, our eyes were just fixated on one thing; her. She laid in her bed barely breathing, her fingertips started to turn black, her pupils were dilated and her reflexes were gone. “You can go now, Mother” her daughter said softly crying. Her son and daughter stood looking incomplete as they shed tears and held their mother’s hand. We left her family alone to have the last crucial moments with their mother in peace. It only took minutes to change mine and her children’s lives.
My boss, the Hospice Nurse, and my fellow Nurse’s Aide walked in absolute silence back to our Med Room where we proceeded to fill out unnecessary paperwork, and random things to keep our minds preoccupied. Within twenty minutes, her daughter showed up in the doorway, it was time. Running down to her room I realized this was going to be my first death since working at the nursing home, they say your first is always your hardest. Her body was cold and limp, the sounds of cries filled the dreary room. Her
