"Can you tell him what you told me?"
That was Brandon--a young man who (up until the last minute) was unable to talk. His tongue was stiff and kept protruding out all night. He was my "one-to-one"--someone I was dedicated to watch every minute of the day during my shift. While in the room, he got quite loud yelling out, "Aaaaaah, aaaaaah, aaaaah..." Eventually one of his hallmates who shared the same restroom with him came around and asked if he can help tuck the patient in. I have seen this work with other patients, and I have decided that I will not tuck patients in. So I agreed. This guy came in and started packing him up--like a piece of ham ready to be sold at the market. He also started massaging Brandon on his chest. He shared about how he does not believe in Western medicine but he is from Belize and had his way of dealing with guys like this. As an anthropologist, I agreed with him. At some point, he asked Brandon, "When did this happened?" The resp...