Late Night Call

One night I get off work from a sixteen hour covid hall work day. I finally arrive home and I climb into my bed. I almost get my eyes closed, then my phone starts to ring. It was a late night call. The girl at the end of the line, ‘Hey I’m sorry to bother you and I know you just left but I need an IV started on a patient. Can you come back? No one here has any experience… ‘

I said, ‘ok.. I’m coming. ‘ And I got back up, got dressed, and drove back at 11:45pm. I got there and got gowned up, headed to the patient’s room. The night nurse stopped me, ‘Hey, that patient that needed the IV we sent her out..’ I said, ‘ok’ and un-gowned, then left, got back into my car, and drove home. My eyes were just about to close. My phone started to ring again. I sat up. Answered, “Hello.” The girl said, ‘ Hey we need your help with another IV.’ I said, ‘You have got to be kidding me, right! I’ll be there in 5 minutes, but you need to walk around the building and ask if anyone else needs one because this is the last time I’m coming back up there tonight!!

I drove back to the job it’s now 1:30 am. I get there and attempt to find the person that called me. Finally after forty-five minutes I find her. Then I find the patient that needed an IV, start the IV. And then I go to every nurse and ask, ‘I’m going home, speak now or don’t speak at all, because I’m going home, and I’m turning my phone off. I will not come back tonight.” They all said that they didn’t need any started. I got to my car and turned my phone off completely. I think that morning was the hardest I ever slept.

Another long day into the night at a long term care facility.