Looking up anticipating our turn
What it looked like from below
That's me getting started. Unfortunately I did not pick a good photographer!!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Up in the trees
Recently I went on a weekend where we did technical tree climbing. Basically you wear a harness which is then clipped to a rope which is suspended very high in a tree. You ascend by pushing up a knot attached to main rope. Then depending on how much weight you are working with you pull yourself up until the harness reaches the knot. Where we were the ropes were 60-90 feet up in the trees. We had the option to pull 1/5th, 50% or 100% of our weight. We also had the option of using an addition which enabled you to use our legs to help. I chose to do 50% of my weight and using the leg attachment not trusting my core or upper body strength. I pulled myself up over 60ft. It was quite an accomplishment for me as I am a little afraid of heights and do not consider myself terribly physically fit - though I have improved greatly in the last year thanks to yoga classes that I have been attending. Here are some photos.
Looking up anticipating our turn
What it looked like from below
That's me getting started. Unfortunately I did not pick a good photographer!!
Looking up anticipating our turn
What it looked like from below
That's me getting started. Unfortunately I did not pick a good photographer!!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Religious Beliefs - Martyrdom or Suicide?
I know about it a bit from my nursing classes - respecting one's beliefs and I have read about it in the news - refusing treatment due to religious beliefs. But a few nights ago I experienced it.
I had a 46 year old patient in the ER who came in with some vague symptoms of weakness. She did not look very good - her eyes and skin had a yellowish tinge and almost looked pale. Her history was cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism. Her lab results told the story - a hemoglobin of 2.7 (normal in a female is 12-14 and normally we would transfuse when below 8) This is probably the lowest I have seen in my 19 years of nursing. Anything lower than this is very close to incompatible with life. Transfusion of several units of blood though can easily reverse the symptoms.
The problem with this patient was that she was a Jehovah's Witness and was refusing any blood transfusions. She was an adult so she had the right to make her own decisions and I as a caregiver had to respect her wishes. The doctor and I tried to communicate that this decision would lead to her very imminent death yet she still refused. She kept asking for something that could be done to build up her blood without a transfusion - but did not seem to grasp that there was no other option at this point. I have tried to think about what she would be feeling. It's easy to choose to refuse a treatment when healthy - but when death is staring you in the face and can be easily prevented - how does one refuse the help that is there? And she was only two years older than me.
I began to think about whether it was worth dying because of one's religious beliefs. I am sure this is a discussion that takes place in many circles. I wondered if this was the same as if I was given the choice to give up my Christian beliefs and live or stick to them and die. But in thinking more about it - this would fit more into the definition of martyrdom - "to publicly persist in your beliefs in the face of threats of death and to actually submit to being killed in testimony of your beliefs." Refusing a blood transfusion for religious reasons is not being killed for your beliefs by someone else. In a way, it is a form of suicide - defined as "the act of causing one's own death." Somehow martyrdom seems more acceptable and honorable than suicide.
At this point, I am not sure what the answer is - but I am leaning towards me dying for my being a Christian being a whole lot different than dying for a religious belief which denies treatment for a medical condition. I have to admit though, that I did admire her courage and determination. I certainly hope I will have the same courage if martyrdom ever confronted me.
I had a 46 year old patient in the ER who came in with some vague symptoms of weakness. She did not look very good - her eyes and skin had a yellowish tinge and almost looked pale. Her history was cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism. Her lab results told the story - a hemoglobin of 2.7 (normal in a female is 12-14 and normally we would transfuse when below 8) This is probably the lowest I have seen in my 19 years of nursing. Anything lower than this is very close to incompatible with life. Transfusion of several units of blood though can easily reverse the symptoms.
The problem with this patient was that she was a Jehovah's Witness and was refusing any blood transfusions. She was an adult so she had the right to make her own decisions and I as a caregiver had to respect her wishes. The doctor and I tried to communicate that this decision would lead to her very imminent death yet she still refused. She kept asking for something that could be done to build up her blood without a transfusion - but did not seem to grasp that there was no other option at this point. I have tried to think about what she would be feeling. It's easy to choose to refuse a treatment when healthy - but when death is staring you in the face and can be easily prevented - how does one refuse the help that is there? And she was only two years older than me.
I began to think about whether it was worth dying because of one's religious beliefs. I am sure this is a discussion that takes place in many circles. I wondered if this was the same as if I was given the choice to give up my Christian beliefs and live or stick to them and die. But in thinking more about it - this would fit more into the definition of martyrdom - "to publicly persist in your beliefs in the face of threats of death and to actually submit to being killed in testimony of your beliefs." Refusing a blood transfusion for religious reasons is not being killed for your beliefs by someone else. In a way, it is a form of suicide - defined as "the act of causing one's own death." Somehow martyrdom seems more acceptable and honorable than suicide.
At this point, I am not sure what the answer is - but I am leaning towards me dying for my being a Christian being a whole lot different than dying for a religious belief which denies treatment for a medical condition. I have to admit though, that I did admire her courage and determination. I certainly hope I will have the same courage if martyrdom ever confronted me.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Faith Is Not Always Easy
The Trapeze
I leave the platform
Legs hooked over the bar
Back arched
Arms spread wide
I fly
The safety net far below me
It is exhilarating
I look ahead
Another trapeze coming towards me
It is God
Arms spread wide
He is reaching
I am reaching
We long to be one
The moment is approaching
Can I let go and grab on to Him
In a split second I look down
It is a long way
I look again at God
The moment is now
No I cannot do it
I swing back to my platform
God back to His
Maybe next time.
L.M.
June, 2009
I leave the platform
Legs hooked over the bar
Back arched
Arms spread wide
I fly
The safety net far below me
It is exhilarating
I look ahead
Another trapeze coming towards me
It is God
Arms spread wide
He is reaching
I am reaching
We long to be one
The moment is approaching
Can I let go and grab on to Him
In a split second I look down
It is a long way
I look again at God
The moment is now
No I cannot do it
I swing back to my platform
God back to His
Maybe next time.
L.M.
June, 2009
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