After I set my backpack on the end table which is located next to the couch my patient is sitting on, I reach for a small bag within the backpack. This contains everything I need to perform a blood draw from Sally’s port. I set my supplies out carefully on the table, knowing this procedure is done with sterile technique. I am confident in what I am about to do as I have drawn blood from countless ports in the past. Sally is easy and relaxed. She knows the routine, too.

Now I must tell you, full disclosure as they say, about a month prior to this visit I had been out with another nurse named Cami. She had been teaching me some of the things I needed to learn as a new hospice, visiting nurse. I had been working in a hospital as an intensive care nurse for about ten years, but switching over to hospice was like having a whole new job. But I love to learn so I was enjoying my time as a “newbie”. I was driving my car that day, a Chrysler Crossfire, a sweet, little, black sports car. I called him My Knight. I had pulled My Knight over to a parking area to view my map of Southern Indiana. Yes! I actually used paper maps back in 2005.:O) That was not a problem either as I love maps!

Now I have worn contact lenses for years. I need reading glasses, or cheaters, when reading small print while wearing my contacts. So, I pull out my cheaters and place them on my nose and suddenly one of the lenses falls into my lap! Cami, my nurse teacher, just laughs and laughs! I do too, as it really was quite funny. They were cheap, old glasses. I just popped the lense back in the frame.

“You really should take care of that, Joan,” Cami says, smiling at me. “There’s a dollar store up the road here. We can stop.”

“Oh, no! I’ll take care of it later. We’re already late for our patient’s appointment, and we are so busy today. I’ll stop soon and get new cheaters,” I replied.

Well, I had not followed up on Cami’s advice. I still had the same old glasses. And on that day I knelt down in front of Sally in that tiny living room and placed those same glasses on my nose. And you won’t believe it but that lense fell out of the frame again! Right into Sally’s lap! I was truly embarrassed again, and felt that familiar feeling of my face going all hot and red. I dared not look up at her. What a fool she must think I am. I’d already embarrassed myself by talking to her husband on my phone who was standing just a few feet away from me. And now this!

I heard a soft giggle and noticed her belly, her lower abdomen beginning to shake like jello. Oh, my gosh! She was laughing!

I finally managed to gather up some courage and look up at her face. She was smiling, and so was her daughter who was sitting next to her.

“I am so sorry, Sally. I can’t believe my glasses just fell apart into your lap. I promise you I really do know what I am doing.”

“Oh honey! Don’t worry. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” Sally replied, still laughing.

I smiled back, grateful for all the grace she was giving me, still willing to trust me with her care. I completed the blood draw without any issue and placed the labeled lab tubes in a nurse glove. From here I would drive My Knight to a local hospital to drop it off in their lab offices.

I stood up and gathered up my backpack, ready to head out.

“Thank you sooo much, Sally!” I said, and nodded at her husband and their daughter. “You guys are the best.”

Sally grabbed my hand and looked at me. “You come back anytime, Joan the Nurse.”

“Thanks, Sally.”

As I closed the door to that tiny apartment I made a mental note to buy new glasses on the way home. But let’s be honest. I did not. What can I say? I really do love to learn but sometimes I am a slow learner. And that can make life really interesting!