Is There Modesty In A Hospital?

Yesterday morning, my grandmother-in-law(is that a real relative?) fell and broke her hip. Nana is 91 and lives in an assisted living facility here in Orlando. Today was to be surgery day, but as it’s now tonight and the surgery still hasn’t started? Who knows? Alas, I digress…

We went to see Nana in the hospital today. In the 30 minutes or so we were there, I witnessed a really, really spectacular form of patient care. So much so that it’ll be a chapter in my next medical book….(please pardon the literary liberties I’ll have to take)…

Many years ago, Nana had a double mastectomy. The EKG tech entered the room today and approached Nana’s hospital bed. She explained to Nana the EKG wouldn’t hurt a bit andd reached at the collar of Nana’s hospital gown.. As you’d expect from any woman(much less one who has endured a double mastectomy), Nana made a motion with her hands and the gown to cover her bare chest. The tech picked up right away on Nana’s subtle gestures, raised the bed sheets to provide extra coverage and did her job-without ever having a bit of Nana’s dignity suffer..

A big deal? Not for a veteran health care professional. A big deal to Nana? Bet your life it was.

Rosemary, the EKG gal at Florida Hospital in Altamonte Springs-doubtful you’ll ever read this, but our family thanks you.