Awkward and Awesome Thursday.

AWKWARD. 

{To set the scene: me, my nurse, another nurse and a nurse preceptor all leaning over a baby's crib in the NICU. My nurse is pregnant. The other nurse is not.}

Nurse practitioner: "So... do you know what you're having yet?"

Five second eye conversation between my nurse and me as we glanced at each other before looking up. 

Me: Oh crap. please tell me she's talking to you, please tell me she's talking to you.

My nurse: Oh crap. please tell me she's talking to me, please tell me she's talking to me.

We both look up to see the nurse practitioner looking over at the other nurse. Who is most definitely not pregnant. Who cannot have any more babies. Who is very, very sensitive about this topic. 

Other nurse (tears already welling up in eyes): "I'm not pregnant." (pause). "Actually I can't have any more babies." Heads for the bathroom.


Nurse practitioner (eyes super wide): "I am so sorry." Starts apologizing profusely, following after the other nurse. 


Me and my other nurse (still having silent eye conversations): Oh dear Lord. That was awkward.

AWESOME. 

I can't really get into the details of this story, but let's just say there has been a very frustrating, demanding family in the NICU and that the physicians and the nurses are pretty much at their whits end with these people. So the dad wanted to do something he wasn't allowed to do. He called the front desk and was told no, I'm sorry, you can't do that right now. The secretary told the whole unit that he had called and we all knew what he wanted. So then, not five minutes later he called back up to the front desk to ask to speak with his baby's nurse. He asked the nurse if he could do the same thing he had already called to ask if he could do.

Pause to note that this nurse has had a really, really rough day and this family is leaving the NICU the next day.

Dad: "Can I do this thing that I've already been told I can't do."

Nurse: {Pauses, pinches bridge of nose}: "You're going to do whatever you want to do."

Dad: "Excuse me?"

Nurse: "You're going to do whatever you want to do." Hangs up. Inwardly, we all cheer.

Let's just say our patient satisfaction level didn't go up that day, but it was still awesome.