Today I had my Remicade infusion for my Crohns disease at the University of Michigan Hospital. This IV treatment is important, expensive and happens every 8 weeks. While I never look forward to these appointments, I remind myself of the effectiveness of the drug and how thankful for access I have to such treatment. The staff at the infusion center are great. They are a highly trained group of individuals who care for the sick everyday of the week.
Some appointments are tougher then others. The only painful part of the appointment at least physically is getting your IV put in. If you have never had an IV be thankful for that small gift. Basically it’s like getting a shot but the needle stays in you (I know it’s actually not a needle but the metaphor still works). Most of appointments they comment how wonderful my veins are and quickly get it in, sometimes with literally zero pain. Occasionally they miss your vein and have to try again….never fun but it happens. Twice I have had to get poked three times…which even for the toughest of people tends to get you a little worked up…near tears. Today was one of those two times. It’s hard to say whether it is inexperience or incompetence on the part of the nurse or just bad luck…we all make mistakes at our jobs. This got me thinking today as I sat in the chair clenching my arm in pain as she dug deep into my muscle…at least when I make mistakes in my job it doesn’t bring instant pain to those I am leading. I am not sure how nurses deal with this kind of stress. Even though I had a roller-coaster of emotions today (which I was good about expressing I might add) I did find myself empathizing for what it must be like to do her job day in and day out. It was great how they worked as team, she was always positive and caring…after the second attempt failed she gave me a break and called the other nurse to take over. I think this strategy is brilliant for it forces me to start fresh with another person. I am not sure I would have allowed a third attempt from the original nurse anyways :)
What is the application of this in your line of work? Do you have a strategy to fix things when you make a mistake? When I mess up how can I fix it? How can I hit reset, refresh and begin again? Nurses have a tough job and I thank God for them (literally just did)…ministry is tough too. While I don’t bring physical pain I can bring emotional strain by the decisions that I make and the way I approach students, volunteers and parents. In this season God is reminding me of my most important roles…to be a pastor, an encourager and a servant of all.
