"Thank you, doctor!"

An elderly lady was brought into the ER by her daughter. She was so out of breath she couldn't even talk, breathing over 40 times a minute in gasps, her frail body heaving with each breath. She was having a heart attack, and her lungs were filled with fluid.

After an hour and a half of aggressive medical management she was pain free, breathing comfortably and able to speak. She was so mad at her daughter for bringing her in against her will, and angry at me for not letting her die. She was most upset with the bruises on her hands from the nurses' IV attempts. I knew that once she started complaining, that was a good sign she was feeling better.

I told her that if she wanted to die, she should have stayed home. I wasn't going to let her drown in front of me and I wasn't going to put her to sleep. Despite her heart attack, she did not have a terminal condition. It was reversible.

She asked, "How much longer does an old woman need?" She was depressed because her husband had died the year before, and she wanted to follow him. I told her that when it was her time, she would join him, but not tonight.

As she was being wheeled up to her room, I was touched because she finally seemed to show some gratitude. "Thank you doctor.....Thank you doctor," she said, holding up her hands....."for these bruises you gave me!"

I love my job. :)