Where have I been?

The last few years have been full of challenges and obstacles. We dealt with COVID and the resulting psychological trauma. We were attempting to treat patients that had "something" that we knew little if anything about other than it was killing our patients and despite the healthcare team doing everything they could, there was not a damn thing we could do to help the multitude of patients we could not save. 

If we admit it, additional psychological trauma developed because our patients were dyeing alone. If they were extremely fortunate, they may have had the opportunity to see their families and their families see them on an I-pad or some video device. So many did not have that opportunity. Our patients did not have the benefit of human touch due to our PPE use. Even after death many facilities would not allow the family to even see the patient after their death. 

Ralph and I are very vocal about believing that "no one should die alone". Many of you, just as we have, have been the only person to hold our patient's hand as they took their last breath. Ralph and I look at that simple act as one of honor. While we can not stop the reaper from reaping, we know in our hearts and minds that the patient was not alone. During COVID neither the patient and nor we as care givers had that opportunity.

Then in 2022 I was diagnosed with rectal cancer. Now before you clutch your pearls, after 12 rounds of chemo and 30 cycles of radiation I am currently cancer free. I will continue to be scoped, poked, prodded, imaged and a few other "things" for the next 4 years but as of this writing I am cancer free. Those of you that know Ralph and I understand that we believe there is a reason for everything. Hang around and we will share "why" we believe: we developed rectal cancer, we never developed any symptoms from the cancer (we will talk about how we were diagnosed in another post), and the opportunities that the experience provided us. 

 Ralph and I continue to teach in the CBU BSN program and have started back doing some locums. Currently, we are in Akutan, AK which is in the Aleutian Chain. We are covering the holidays at the Trident Akutan Plant Clinic. 

For those of you that have kept in contact, we are back. If this posting is the first you have read, please go back in the archives and catch up. It will explain quite a bit about my relationship with Ralph and oour outlook on life.

Tommy and Ralph