#3 Fragile without Life

Today, I witnessed a person died right in front of me for the first time in my life. I was checking a patient's chart on a table beside her bed and there was an ECG monitor in front of me. She was breathing through a non-rebreather mask, but her breathing was slow. Her children were beside her. I looked up at one point and saw the ECG monitor slowly changed from few waves to asystole (flatline). Her chest suddenly stopped rising and the airbag that was attached to the mask stopped expanding. Her children shaked her, trying to wake her up. Then, they looked at me, expecting me to do something as they thought I was a doctor. Since I am just a medical student, all I can do was just notify the nurse nearest to me quickly. The thing that hits me the hardest is the pleading look in their eyes, expecting me to make a wondrous save, and i was just standing there feeling so helpless. And the fact that death can take its toll in a short amount of time without us knowing it. I didn't know her diagnosis since I didn't clerk her and she was constantly in pain for a few days. I witnessed how the nurses handled her, wrapping her up. I never realized how fragile a body looks without a life.

Writer's note: I had the honour of being approached by an editor from SAYS Malaysia as she wanted to publish this story. I was being interviewed for more details regarding this story. Click here to read more: http://says.com/my/lifestyle/m-sian-city-life-57-medical-student-dealing-with-death-of-a-patient-for-the-first-time

#death #life