1625

It was bound to occur
Saturday I experienced my first encounter with death
Up close and all
The man was 58 years young
had 11 kids
And almost all of them were on hand to view his passing
I spoke to one of his daughters who was my age
She was the one in charge of answering all the phone calls
With 11 children you are going to receive numerous phone calls
I was surprised in her ability to maintain her composure throughout the day
Her father had an unexpected massive stroke, not that strokes are expected
The patient was in the hospital when the stroke took place
When I reported in for work the next night he was clinically brain dead
He had a history of strokes, leading his family to believe he would pull through
His room was directly in front of my station
The image of him lying in bed was constantly in my view
As 1600 rolled around his condition worsened
As his heart rate slowed I walked into his room with his nurse
We both watched as he took his last breath
Everyone in the room fell into pieces
Once they had cleared I had the duty to unhook the monitors and remove his IVs
I could feel the cold skin through my gloves
His daughter walked in and crumbled
I hate nothing to say
For nothing would ease her pain
I will never forget her raw emotion and pain
Time of death, 1625