the hospital and my personal movie review
I came home from work tonight with a ton of energy, which is a very unusual thing...largely because it is rare to have a night as slow as tonight was. On top of that, we had several four-legged visitors on our floor, and because things were a bit on the slow side, I actually got to play with them. I am referring, of course, to dogs. My hospital has the policy that if you are sick and miserable, and a furry friend will brighten up your day, the more the merrier...and I really don't mind them coming either. (I'm sure this policy is not true for ICU's, neutropenic patients, etc...but fortunately, I don't work on an ICU).
So anyway, today there was a gray toy poodle and a beagle. I have never been a fan of poodles (particularly toy ones), but I will say that this one was pretty cute, and she managed to cheer up my oncology patient, which is really something. The Beagle, Lizzie, has been a frequent flier on our floor, as her owner has been on the floor longer then I have. Normally, when she comes, the family shuts the patients door and lets her roam the room at will. At one point today, I came out of another patients room to see a wagging tail disappear around a corner down the hall. I proceded to chase poor Lizzie in and out of several patients rooms and finally back into her own where her family hadn't even noticed she was missing. It amused me for a time.
At another point tonight I was assisting one of my patients change her socks. When her feet were bare, and I was beginning to pull the sock down over her toes, she looked down the bed at me, smiled in a quirky way, and said, "Good bye Toe!" I have to admit that this kinda worried me, as this partiular patient had not, to this point, been suffering from dementia or confusion, and I think it worried me most not that she was saying good bye to her feet as they disappeared from view, but that she chose only to say goodbye to one of her toes. Why this special treatment? What was the deal? I smiled at her, finished what I was doing, and went to consult with the nurse about the potential change in mental status of the patient, only to find out that the patient was having the toe in question amputated the next day. I guess that does earn some sort of special treatment.
Enough of the hospital for now.
I recently watched the movie "Into the Wild." (SPOILER ALERT...DON'T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE AND INTEND TO) This movie was highly recommended to me, and I did like it for a time...but then I got to the end of the movie. It is no secret that I don't care for depressing movies (perhaps this makes me shallow, but at least I'm an honest shallow person), unless they are redeeming depressing movies where there may be a sad lesson, but redemption and/or hope with the sadness. Personally, I don't care to watch movies that are depressing because I don't figure that I need to be filling my head with or using my time in that direction.
I also admit that sometimes a movie comes along where it is a sad story with little or no hope/redemption, but that the value in the movie is the message it portrays to the watcher (such as Schindler's List). I am guessing that "Into the Wild" is meant to fall into that category, and for that I can grant that it has some merit...but I found the sadness in the end outweighed the value in the message to the watcher. That message can be portrayed in other, more positive and just as effective ways.
I was thinking that the story (and I realize it is a true story and cannot, for that reason, be changed) was setting itself up for the main character to learn (the hard way, through sickness, loneliness,and near starvation) the value in human relationships. Many important friendships were made throughout the movie, but that was not enough to sway the character's opinion that happiness is living void of human contact. Towards the end, when he finally came to realize that happiness (as the opening quote of the movie states) occurs only when shared with those around you, it is too late. He is trapped in the wild and he dies hungry and alone. His family never hears from him or sees him living again, and he is not able to relate that (as the movie implies) he has forgiven them. I realize that forgiveness is most valuable to the forgiver, and if he truly learned to forgive his parents, that is some redemption...but it was still...a bit too depressing for me. If happiness occurs only when shared, he never really realized that he was happy when he was with all of his friends, and never got the chance to be happy again, when he learned what it was.
I do value, though, the line "to forgive is to love."
I watched the movie several days ago, and the closing scenes are still haunting me (and not in a good way).
Wow...long post...if I were the reader...I probably wouldn't make it to the end :-) Props for dedication to those who do!
So anyway, today there was a gray toy poodle and a beagle. I have never been a fan of poodles (particularly toy ones), but I will say that this one was pretty cute, and she managed to cheer up my oncology patient, which is really something. The Beagle, Lizzie, has been a frequent flier on our floor, as her owner has been on the floor longer then I have. Normally, when she comes, the family shuts the patients door and lets her roam the room at will. At one point today, I came out of another patients room to see a wagging tail disappear around a corner down the hall. I proceded to chase poor Lizzie in and out of several patients rooms and finally back into her own where her family hadn't even noticed she was missing. It amused me for a time.
At another point tonight I was assisting one of my patients change her socks. When her feet were bare, and I was beginning to pull the sock down over her toes, she looked down the bed at me, smiled in a quirky way, and said, "Good bye Toe!" I have to admit that this kinda worried me, as this partiular patient had not, to this point, been suffering from dementia or confusion, and I think it worried me most not that she was saying good bye to her feet as they disappeared from view, but that she chose only to say goodbye to one of her toes. Why this special treatment? What was the deal? I smiled at her, finished what I was doing, and went to consult with the nurse about the potential change in mental status of the patient, only to find out that the patient was having the toe in question amputated the next day. I guess that does earn some sort of special treatment.
Enough of the hospital for now.
I recently watched the movie "Into the Wild." (SPOILER ALERT...DON'T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE AND INTEND TO) This movie was highly recommended to me, and I did like it for a time...but then I got to the end of the movie. It is no secret that I don't care for depressing movies (perhaps this makes me shallow, but at least I'm an honest shallow person), unless they are redeeming depressing movies where there may be a sad lesson, but redemption and/or hope with the sadness. Personally, I don't care to watch movies that are depressing because I don't figure that I need to be filling my head with or using my time in that direction.
I also admit that sometimes a movie comes along where it is a sad story with little or no hope/redemption, but that the value in the movie is the message it portrays to the watcher (such as Schindler's List). I am guessing that "Into the Wild" is meant to fall into that category, and for that I can grant that it has some merit...but I found the sadness in the end outweighed the value in the message to the watcher. That message can be portrayed in other, more positive and just as effective ways.
I was thinking that the story (and I realize it is a true story and cannot, for that reason, be changed) was setting itself up for the main character to learn (the hard way, through sickness, loneliness,and near starvation) the value in human relationships. Many important friendships were made throughout the movie, but that was not enough to sway the character's opinion that happiness is living void of human contact. Towards the end, when he finally came to realize that happiness (as the opening quote of the movie states) occurs only when shared with those around you, it is too late. He is trapped in the wild and he dies hungry and alone. His family never hears from him or sees him living again, and he is not able to relate that (as the movie implies) he has forgiven them. I realize that forgiveness is most valuable to the forgiver, and if he truly learned to forgive his parents, that is some redemption...but it was still...a bit too depressing for me. If happiness occurs only when shared, he never really realized that he was happy when he was with all of his friends, and never got the chance to be happy again, when he learned what it was.
I do value, though, the line "to forgive is to love."
I watched the movie several days ago, and the closing scenes are still haunting me (and not in a good way).
Wow...long post...if I were the reader...I probably wouldn't make it to the end :-) Props for dedication to those who do!