One Hell of a Year

Hey everyone! My name is Neha and I am halfway through my second year. It’s been one hell of a year—educational, exhausting and rewarding.

Neha Kayastha, MS2

 “Ahhh there’s my girl! I was waiting for you.” This is how I was greeted every afternoon when I would visit one of my very first patients, Ms. B. She would then ask me to “cut” the TV and would motion for me to pull up a chair or sit at the foot of her bed. One afternoon, I played her favorite 60s song on my phone as she sang along with a hoarseness in her voice that comes with 86 years of age. By the end, we were laughing so hard we both started tearing up. Thirty minutes later, I was holding her hand as she mourned the loss of her two sons. 

Every time I think of Ms. B., I remember Mr. V. He is a very sick man with nobody in this world to advocate for him. I never got quite the warm greeting from him that Ms. B used to give me. He usually remained under his blankets and often refused to talk to me. He once said, “I don’t want to die, I just want a break from all of this. And I want coffee.” That we could manage. Maybe we could even do something more. My intern (who had a mind-boggingly long list of things to do at the time) and I tracked down a wheelchair so we could take him outside. Mr. V bummed two cigarettes off someone outside and one of them somehow burned through his hospital gown (whoops, I think I was supposed to keep that detail to myself). We ended up staying out for over an hour watching the sky change colors as the sun set, Mr. V. finally enjoying something and me trying to avoid the way the wind was blowing smoke into my face.

Getting to spend this year out of the classroom and really connecting with patients has been a privilege. My patients have already taught me so much more about this profession than my textbooks ever could have. Like I said, it’s been one hell of a year.