All in a day's work

Last week I had a very emotional experience with a patient.  He is 93 years old and speaks 99% Russian. What I knew from report was he has some dementia, but he is pleasant.  Hard to tell when you don't speak the same language so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.  We communicated as best as we could until the interpreter got there. He had breakfast, took his pills, and said "I listen to you."  When the interpreter got there I was waiting for the Physical Therapist to come and work with him.  They didn't come so I spent some time using the interpreter to talk to my patient and get to know who HE is without labels of dementia or confusion.  It is rare I have 25 minutes to stand and have a conversation with a patient to hear their life stories and connect with them personally.  What I found out is what got me so emotional.  He told me of his times in Russia way back to the beginning or WWII.  He is a Jewish Russian and fought against the Germans.  He spoke of Stalin like we would talk about Obama today.  Very casually and with details not many of us would remember 70 years later.  I didn't get if he was in a concentration camp or not, but to hear and see his face as he told me of the memories still so vivid in his mind.  I started tearing up thinking how blessed I was to be speaking to someone with so much history and wisdom to share.  Unfortunately not many else will get to have that conversation unless an interpreter is available and not rushed to leave. I believe there was a reason I was assigned this man and had the opportunity to spend as much time as I did learning about him and his life.  I believe God places people in your life to reveal things about yourself. I learned I needed to slow down and not judge a book (or patient) by the cover.  Sometimes it is hard to see the things that are revealed and it was hard for me to look at myself and learn not to judge people.  The trust I built with this man that day was stronger than an oak tree.  He allowed me to shave him and having that intimate moment with a patient can be scary, especially when the interpreter had left at that time.  I am glad I was blessed with the skills and traits to be a nurse and God has revealed to me that I am not done growing as a nurse or a child of God.  We are constantly being pruned and molded into the person He has created us to be.