A Day In The Life, Personal Experience

In January on Job Shadow Day I shadowed a ski club coach/friend. He works at St. Francis hospitol in the ICU. That day showed me that critical care is where I want to be when I get out of college. One patient inparticular stuck out in my mind. He was 18 years out and was shot numerous time, I think it was 7, up and down the spine and neck. The bullet holes, somewhat healed when I saw them, we about half an inch around, I was told they were a little over an inch around when the bullets were removed. Needless to say he was lucky to be alive. However, he was a quadripledic. All I wanted to do was cry, the cops were their every day checking on him, waiting until they could answer his questions and suspecting the crime was drug related. I wanted to help him, I wanted to make his paralysis disappear, but I didn't have that power. I was thinking about this poor kid everyday, wondering what happened to him, I would ask the therapist about him everytime I saw him, until I got an answer that would lead to no more. The kid is doing better, with a special thanks to his physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech therapist. When I was there he had no idea what was wrong with him, he had a neck brace one due to broken bones that he was constantly wiggling out of, not understanding why he could feel any part of his body unless he saw someone touch it. Now he his in a wheel chair, most likely for the rest of his life. He did get some feeling back, I believe it was an electric wheel chair that he can control with his hands, which at the time was a huge accomplishment.