Long, But Worth the Read

Yesterday as I was walking backing into the health sciences building I held the door for a girl coming in behind me. As I was walking up the stairs to the lab, the girl stopped me and asked where she the nursing offices where. She went on to explain that was alum of the nursing program and she needed to talk to one of the professors about a problem she had. As I walked with her down the hall she said "You work at UW don't you?"
I wasn't quite sure how she knew that but of course I said yes. Then she asked if she could tell me about her situation, I of course said yes to that too. The poor girl just fell apart as she began to tell me her story. She had just started a new job in an oncology (cancer care) ICU. A few weeks ago while she was still on orientation she had her first patient code (cardiac arrest). They where able to resuscitate the patient twice that day but the woman died two days later.
She went on to explain that at first she felt OK about what had happened, her co-workers and her manager had congratulated her on how she had handled the situation.
She didn't fall apart until a few days later... Just before her patient (who is extremely sick) had coded she had drawn a blood gas from and arterial line. After she had drawn the blood she noticed a very small bubble in the in the line. The preceptor told her to flush it anyway. To make a long story short the poor thing became convinced that she had killed her patient by giving her an air embolism. She had been tortured by this awful thought for two weeks while on a family vacation, she was about to go and tell her manager this.
We talked for about an hour. I tried to explain to her that it takes several milliliters of air to cause and air embolism, the amount of air in 2cm length or art line tubing isn't enough to cause anything. The patient was on the way out! The question I asked her was "Where did that thought come from?" No one had told her she had killed her patient or that she was a bad nurse or that she couldn't do it. Those condemning and untrue thoughts were coming from the devil, who else wants us to fail? Who wants to disable us with our own thoughts and keep us from being who we are called to be? We can't let ourselves go down that path. While people can and do make mistakes that they need to be accountable for, they cannot take false responsibility. One cannot also be overridden with guilt to the point where they can't move on and it affects productivity.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says:
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Isaiah 55:8-12 says:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.

As we were talking another professor came in and the three of us had the opportunity to pray these promises. I think we all needed to be reminded to take captive every thought and seek a higher understanding grounding ourselves in truth.


I can't take credit for this picture, it was taken my a person I met in Rwanda who worked for World Concern. The picture was actually taken in Pakistan.