Holding The Hands Of Saints

“You are a crook!!!!”

“This is highway robbery!!!”

“I’m gonna just pee in the hallway!!!”

“I will catch you in the parking lot!!!”

“I wish you could feel what I feel so you know the pain!!”

Patient care is not for the faint of heart. These statements weren’t even said to me at my medical job.

These are statements from my time at Sonic Drive-In. (smirk)

I have heard 10x worse in the medical field…

I care about people, always have. It is my main motive and primary focus as CEO of Avondale Advantage–genuinely adding value.

Now, I can share horror stories, trials, horrible coworkers, and so on. But that’s not the hardest part about patient care.

In October 2015, I began my job at the Pain Center of AZ. Got through my 90-day trial and became a full-time employee.

Pain management was new to me then. I had worked urgent care for 9 years, which is like a fast food restaurant. Maybe I see you 3 times a year, max.

With pain management, though, 80 percent of our patients come in at least once a month. You become familiar with patients, especially those who average 2-3 visits. This has its pluses and its minuses.With respect to HIPAA, I will call this patient Nate Dogg, or just Nate.

Nate was just full of life, and I never thought to ask him what pain we were treating–that’s how infectious his positive energy was.

He had an amazing wife, too, always by his side, and they would share stories. I always spent an extra 5 minutes with them.

One day Nate Dogg came in, I had been working for about year at that point. That day I noticed he appeared significantly smaller than the last time I had seen him–like he cut 20 lbs. I asked Nate “you doin cardio?” He responded, “I'm just trying to keep up with you.” I was currently trying to lose weight by watching my diet, so hearing that felt good.

After I roomed Nate, my coworker noticed that I had asked about his weight. He pulled me aside and said, "Hey– Nate has really bad stomach cancer, and he is dying."

Nate had been coming in for injections to help numb the nerves in the abdomen region.

Each subsequent visit, Nate continued to wither away in front of my eyes. I made it a point to always have my energy up and my heart in the right place. Cause honestly, how bad is your day compared to someone dying of cancer?

I wish I could remember which day it was but like all the other visits, I scanned the list to see who would be coming in. I saw Nate Dogg was one of our firsts of the day. I called his name out like I was picking my team for basketball.

With pride, I got his paperwork together when his chart came up for rooming. I walked up to lobby door with big grin and called 'Nate.' Right off the bat I knew something wasn’t right.

Nate’s eyes and focus were zig-zagging and he wasn’t responding to my questions. His wife had tears welling up in her eyes and gave me a look of major concern. By this point, Nate was no longer walking and was confined to a wheelchair.

I got him into the room and then proceeded to get his vitals. No words were spoken. When I took his blood pressure, it was through the roof.

His wife said he hadn’t been right since the night before, unresponsive, defecating on himself, and not eating. I immediately went to our main provider and nurse, who evaluated him right away.

My heart is beating a mile a minute and I'm holding back tears. It felt like hours before 911 got there. They assigned me to monitor him until 911 did arrive.

Nate’s eyes kept pacing and he began to mutter. His wife finally welped. with tears flooding her eyes. I couldn’t hold back either had tears running down my face.

As 911 entered the room, Nate zeroed in on me. Looked me straight into my eyes and said, “ Don’t worry big guy, I will be back.” Then went right back into delirium. I gave his wife a hug and they left.

Nate Dogg never came back. And my shift was not over. I stepped out to cry and take a minute and then got right back to work.

This is what is required to be a great medical assistant. Caring for every single person, cause as corny as it sounds, LOVE is still the best medicine.

Thank You.

I am Isiaha Alejandro, CEO and FOUNDER of Avondale Advantage

I EMPOWER others to find their ADVANTAGE.