hardest part of geriatric nursing. I remember one man in particular, Joe*.

He was a veteran of World War II, and a retired mechanic. He was nearly 90 when I

met him. His beloved wife of 45 years, Sara, had died only months earlier. He was

diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). In this disease, the

lungs lose their elasticity and begin to fill up with fluid. Eventually, a person will

literally drown in his or her own secretions. It is slow and sometimes very painful for a

Taking report from the off-going nurse, I was not surprised to hear that Joe was

taking a turn for the worse. The physician had been called earlier and ordered some

Morphine to ease his pain. The unspoken thoughts exchanged between us had been the

same, "This is it". As I prepared for the long night ahead, I looked over Joe's chart. He

was listed as a "DNR-Do Not Resuscitate". His wishes were to die without any

*All names have all been changed to protect privacy

life extenting means, only comfort measures to

his father at that age. The pictures in Joe's room confirm the resemblance. Jack's wife,

in my heart that he would not make it through the night.

normal. Kim kept a couple of warm blankets on him and the room heater on low. He

as a relative. I proceeded to call his son, Jack, to inform him of his father's change in

Some common words found in the essay are:
Fortunately Joe's, Immediately Karen, Disease COPD, DNR-Do Resuscitate, Sound Silence, War II, Joe's Placing, Minutes Jack, touched hand, ease pain, vital signs, minutes jack, sound silence, jack appeared,
Approximate Word count = 1216
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)