Josie smiling

Josie smiling
One ear up and one ear down...my trademark look

Friday, January 29, 2010

Lost My First Patient. God this is hard....

My patient, Steve, passed away this morning. Sorry for the sad message. But this is the first patient that I've lost. Steve was the best patient in the world to visit. My mom made him this get well card (pictures of it below) yesterday that we were going to give him tomorrow after our Pediatrics visit. We never got to give it to him. I only saw him two days ago and he seemed to be doing fine. Sickness can do that, though. It never really reveals its ugly head. And we never really know what is wrong with someone when we visit them. And we don't ask. I know it's a hard lesson to learn. My mom is really upset. But I know the times we shared together with Steve and his wife Joyce were special. We lifted their spirits and took their minds off the sad moments about to come. He obviously was much sicker than he looked, but we didn't know that. I just hung with him and put my head on his chest or stomach. And the last visit, which was on Wednesday, he was sitting in a big chair beside the bed, smiling with both legs up, crossed with his feet resting on the bed, so the only way I could touch him was to curl up and put my head on his feet/ankle area, so that's what I did. And he LOVED it. He was singing to me...."Josie! Josie!" as he fed me a whole bag of treats! We had a great visit and I got to meet his daughter Kelly. (she's really pretty!) I waved "Good-Bye" to him and my mom kissed him good-bye and we said we would see him on Saturday. Well, we actually said we'd see him tomorrow, meaning Thursday, but then we got a call from Joyce on Thursday saying he was rushed into ICU for a Biopsy early Thursday morning. So when I spoke with Joyce Thursday afternoon, she said to hold off on our visit and come visit him on Saturday after our Pediatric visit. My mom called today to see how he was doing and that's when we got the sad news. Like I said, my mom is really upset. But I tell her to focus on the good times. And that his family was probably a lot more prepared for his passing than we were. God Speed Steve! I'm glad we got to meet you. Now you get to be with all your Furbabies that went to the Rainbow Bridge. We love you and are going to miss you more than you know. Much Love. We love you!


14 comments:

  1. Very sad, but also wonderful that you brought light and joy into his last days. You did good.

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  2. It is a difficult time but please remember the joy you are bringing these special people. They all need your special love.

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  3. I love your card, Josie, you are so pretty and that cocky ear is just great and makes you special. I bet you made Steve smile a lot and that is what counts.

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  4. It's sad to lose your friends that you visit. I understand! We've lost people that we visit, too.

    Bunny

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  5. Woof! Woof! Thanks for visiting my blog. LOVE to have new friends. Sad story but you truly delivered a delightful lasting moments. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  6. Josie
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. It is very nice to meet you. Thars great that you are a therapy dog, way to cool. What did you have to do to become a therapy dog?

    I will stop by your blog too and I look forward to becoming a good friend with you.
    I am sorry about Steve. I know you will miss him and he is in a better place now. Maybe you can still be a help to his family. Your card was really nice too.

    Also what a cool trademark, one ear and one ear down, makes my new friend truly unique!!

    Wags
    Jazzi

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  7. wow. Im so sorry about your loss :( thank you very much for the nice comments! im glad you enjoyed my blog! well ill keep coming back to read more! keep up the very wonderful work :) oh i almost forgot, I love your cats! they are so adorable.

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  8. Oh Josie, I am so sorry to hear about Steve. It would be so hard to lose one of your patients, especially one you had spent so much time with. You brought a lot of smiles into Steve's life when he needed it the most. Just continue to hold the memories of him in your heart. The card is wonderful, I'm sure it would have meant a lot to Steve.

    Sorry but I didn't see your post yesterday or I would have been over sooner.

    Hugs,
    Judy

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  9. Hi Josie, I'm so sorry about Steve. Know that you were a comfort and joy to him and his family. Your work is very important, keep being an angel and spreading love. (((hugs)))

    Thank you for the very nice comment you left on my blog. I'm glad you like my mom's art and my photos. Her camera is a Nikon D40, which is an entry level DSLR, and after having it for a few years she would like to upgrade. I don't know why, she takes too many pictures as it is!

    Much love to you!

    Cloud

    PS. Your ears are so cute!!!

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  10. This is my first visit, and I'm sorry to land here on a sad note. You should be proud of yourself despite the loss...

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  11. So very, very sorry to hear of your friend's passing. I'm sure the two of you brought much happiness, friendship, and caring at the time it was needed most. The card you made for Steve is so sweet. Take care; the work you do brings so much joy.

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  12. I am so very sorry for the loss. Its s so difficult to know when the body can no longer go on. I love the work you do it is some of the most difficult but very very necessary. Bless your gold heart!

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  13. So so so sorry to hear this :(
    So sweet from you ....
    Hugs Kareltje =^.^=

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  14. Sorry to hear about Steve Josie, I know it's difficult but I also know you brought happiness to his life by just knowing you.
    You do great work and should be so VERY proud. Thanks for the comments on my blogs. I really do appreciate it.

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