A Loving Warning—and a Funny Moment
On Tuesday Ray had appointments and procedures in Nashville, Tennessee, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Because it is a teaching hospital, the staff performs many research projects.
Campus of Vanderbilt University.
Courtesy Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America Project
in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive,
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
At the close of Ray’s last appointment for the day, the nurse asked if he would be interested in participating in one of these projects. Finding that the project related to helping prevent opioid addiction, Ray agreed, believing it to be an opportunity to make a small difference in a national crisis.
The national crisis is scary, complicated, and multi-faceted. It is a crisis that does not affect only certain segments of the American population. We have heard stories of the impact of opioid addiction on homeschooling families. One way this has happened is when a homeschool graduate has become addicted after taking opioids for pain after surgery following a sports injury.
Because patients often need opioid pain relievers for a short time after surgery, researchers are recruiting heart surgery patients for this project. Ray doesn’t want to take any kind of strong pain relievers; he plans to avoid them, if at all possible.
Two researchers came into the examining room to discuss what they would be asking Ray to do. His involvement is simple. Tuesday’s tasks took about 40 minutes. First, he filled out multiple questionnaires. Then, they had him squeeze a device every second for two minutes. Finally, for several minutes, he rated his pain level at certain intervals while a blood pressure cuff squeezed his arm tightly. Ray is to have two other sessions over the phone at a later date.
I am writing today to warn you to be vigilant when someone you love is on pain medication after surgery, and also to share with you a funny manners moment that happened on Tuesday.
After Ray filled out the questionnaires, the two female researchers returned to the examining room. When they walked in, Ray stood up. The obvious leader of the two, a nurse, asked Ray if he would rather do the next task standing up. Ray explained that he stood up because they are ladies. When she looked rather puzzled, I playfully said to Ray, “Maybe they are too young to know that standing up when a lady enters was once considered good manners.”
Then she said she thought that maybe we had lost too many manners today. Ray and I agreed.
When you face or your family faces a serious challenge, remember:
My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 62:5-8