The Other Side of the Fence: A Nurse's Testimony

By Stephanie Cameron

As a health-care professional, I encountered patients daily in the intensive care unit – “circling the drain” – as we described their status. They were dying. They required nonstop, twenty-four-hour care to keep them alive. Most were sedated on life-sustaining drugs and ventilator-assist devices. I look back on my own near-death encounter not as a nurse taking care of a dying patient but as that patient clinging to life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098024901

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The Other Side of the Fence

A Nurse's Testimony

Stephanie Cameron

Copyright © 2020 by Stephanie Cameron

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

To believers all over the world!

To all the prayer warriors present and those gone on to glory.

To the downtrodden and those who have lost hope.

To all of my friends and relatives who came to pray for me

To every doctor, nurse, and medical personnel who gave their gifts and talents to restore health and healing.

In the book David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell, a young author from New York City, challenges how we think about obstacles, disadvantages, disappointments, and what it means to cope and work through these moments using nontraditional warfare with the help of the Lord. As human beings, we are not equipped to resolve or determine the outcome without him.

In 2006, I was working twelve shifts in a very busy military ICU at the height of the Iraq War. Wounded soldiers came in from the war—The War Theater as it was then called. These were gravely injured soldiers flown into Germany from the battlefield to be stabilized before the ten-hour flight to the US military hospital for continued care and treatment. ICU doctors and nurses were waiting as they were rushed through the doors of the intensive care unit with blood-soaked bandages and dressings. Some were on life support, with life-sustaining infusions to keep them alive until they reached the unit. Still many others who survived the flight were not as fortunate. We watched the parents, wives, husbands, and children flown in from all over the US watching their loved ones for the first time after leaving home and going to war. The screaming, wailing, and fainting from loved ones that could be heard day after day were taking its toll on the ICU staff. Only by the grace of God were we not only able to take care of the patients but also offer the love and support to the families of these wounded warriors. Emotionally, they became our families. For most of us who engaged in this type of profession, it became personal. It was certainly not about the money we earn, our skill set, or education but what we do out of our hearts by giving back of our gifts and talents to help others.

Code Blue—a familiar message heard on the overhead loudspeaker in most hospitals on any given day that announced someone was in distress or no longer had a heartbeat. The message was loud and clear and repeated over and