Healthcare Traveler - February 2009 - (Page 36)

CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. I At one eatery, an elderly man introduced himself to me and explained that he was recovering from quadruple bypass heart surgery. He said he frequented the restaurant just to stay active and chat with other customers. Unlike a close friend of his who was fighting cancer and refused to leave his home or let daylight came away from in through his windows, this particular gentleman the Outer Banks learned that visiting the relaxed and restaurant was most helpful for his wellbeing. ready to return I also conversed with a to work. couple who underwent an alarming experience during an overnight campout. The husband woke up with an awful hive breakout, and he joked to his wife, “Please don’t tell anyone that I died from hives.” She gave him an over-the-counter antihistamine, and he was cured by the morning. The couple concluded that his hives were caused from food. I suppose the moral of their cute, but serious, story is: Avoid new foods—especially those with unknown ingredients—while on vacation. Another unforgettable character I met was a distinguished World War II veteran. I was enjoying a refreshment when he approached me and asked, “Do you mind if I smoke here?” Having successfully managed to avoid secondhand smoke in the establishment, I hesitated. But within minutes, the elderly gentleman revealed his personal history to me, and my heart just ached for him. Dependent on oxygen, he had suffered three strokes, had cancer in both lungs and diminished hearing from the war, and he had lost his wife in 2002. Recently, he had relocated to the Outer Banks, at his son’s request. As we enjoyed each other’s company, I tried my best to impart my nursing expertise and coping techniques to this lonely man. I omitted the obvious advice to quit smoking because the addiction was not his biggest problem. Indeed, adapting to a new environment away from lifelong friends caused him the most difficulty. I encouraged him to go out to public places and try to make new friends, even if only a passing acquaintance like me. I had the opportunity to promote smoking cessation, however, while camping at Oregon Inlet. I woke up before daylight and walked from my tent to the public restroom. “No, honey. You can’t smoke in our new motor home,” I heard a man’s voice proclaim as I saw a woman lighting a cigarette underneath the brilliant moon. Come morning, I was compelled to leave this woman a quick, simple written message: “Quit today and never look back.” I approached her husband who was hooking up their tow car to a beautiful motor home, complete with shower, plasma TV, washer/dryer, Corian® countertops, and more luxurious comforts. He confessed to me that he couldn’t convince his wife to quit smoking, despite the fact that her mother and sister succumbed to early deaths. I invited him and his wife to be my guests at my beach home in Texas. He thanked me as I left him with my handwritten note. On another memorable night at the Frisco Campground, I took a short walk and met a married couple. The retired man informed me that he desired to take his wife on a vacation to Alaska. Having completed travel nurse assignments in Ketchikan, Anchorage, and Barrow, Alaska, I encouraged him to go there and enjoy all the www.healthcaretraveler.com 36 Healthcare Traveler February 2009 http://www.healthcaretraveler.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Traveler - February 2009

Healthcare Traveler - February 2009 Editor’s Desk Contents In a Flash Paws for Thought Field Notes Med Ec-cerpts The Economic Meltdown What Really is a “Tax Home”? Beach Therapy Drug Update Professional Update Advice of Counsel Cityscape Advertisers’ Index Name It Contest Rules On Assignment Tax Facts Dot.com Big Deals Allied Corner Going the Distance Classifieds Tales from the Road

Healthcare Traveler - February 2009

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