With nursing, I can tell you a lot of stories about saving lives and all that stuff but probably the most "good" thing I would say I did was the following because it affected their lives enough where they remembered and it was on my own time, not while I was on the job as a nurse.
I had a patient who was a lovely man. In his 30's, two kids. A little boy and a little girl. He was from New Zealand and I always teased him because I loved his accent. His wife was a lovely woman. She never left the hospital since he was admitted. He had non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I was always his nurse when I was on because they try to keep consistency in nurses. Anyway, I watched him progressively get worse. His wife still never left his side. One night in particular, she came out to the nursing station around 2 am and said he could not get comfortable and could not sleep. I asked if he needed more pain medication since he already took his sleeping medication. She said no. She said it wasn't exactly pain. Because of his lymphoma, his lymph nodes were swollen. From his neck to his arms to his head, he had swollen lumps. She said the ones on his head was causing him discomfort when he laid his head on the pillow to sleep. We tried ordering him a foam pillow. Still too hard. We tried positioning his bed so maybe the pressure wouldn't be so hard. No.
It bothered me and I tried to figure something out. I asked if they ever tried a goose down pillow. It would be soft and mold with his head. She said no and said she didn't have anybody to stay with him if she left and didn't really want to leave him. I called the hospital linen and supply. No down pillows.
So when I got off in the morning, after 12 hours at the hospital and my day off, I went and bought him a goose down pillow and brought it in. I was off for two days. When I came back into work, his wife was so thankful. She said he slept for the first time throughout the night for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, he passed away...
Fast forward two years. I was going to grad school and was working part-time in a retail store to make extra money for Christmas along with working weekends at the hospital. I hear a voice call my name. I turn around and there is his wife. I didn't even have time to say hello, she hugged me and started crying. Crying! I couldn't believe she recognized me. She told me that she will always remember what I did for him.
That is what I would say was my best "good" thing.
I know what the best "good" thing that was ever done for me by a stranger. A pelican named Red Beard organized a way for the pelicans to help me last year when I got laid off. And when Joe and Lee helped deliver presents and gift cards, it was the most amazing thing for me. it blew my mind away.
