Monday, April 20, 2015

Lessons I've Learned Along the Way #4 (cancer/visiting hours)

Lessons I've learned along the way #4
Visiting hours are awesome for visitors, but they're not such a great time to be calling and texting the patient.
This never occurred to me before, but it makes total sense now that I've experienced it.
If a person is on restricted visiting hours, as they are in the ICU, then chances are good that there are close friends and family members who have been patiently waiting for the visiting hours to come.
Now imagine that they are finally in the room with their loved one, and people start calling and texting Mr. Sickie.
You (Mr. Calling & Texting Person) have now stolen time away from Mrs. Visitor who has been waiting a long time to hug, visit, and love on Mr. Sickie. 
This will not only make Mrs. Visitor a little sad and possibly cranky, but it also puts a lot of pressure on Mr. Sickie to decide who to give his attention to. And besides, if Mr. Sickie is just sitting in his room, watching Dancing with the Stars, bored out of his mind before and after visiting hours, it just makes sense to call at those times, eh?
Memorize visiting hours. And use them appropriately. I will certainly do better with this, in the future.

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