A Reflection On The Sound Of Crunching Metal

The light was as bright as the sun and I could feel my retinas burning. In the back i could hear a slight beeping sound almost like it was graphing my heart beat. I heard voices, “Scalpel.” “I’m going to make the first incision now....” And then nothing, the voices stopped and i was back in my own head. I was startled by a falling sensation, as i was thrown into an even colder room. The light in here was dimmer, but it was still blinding. I crawled over to giant metal door and punched it and screamed for them to let me out. I needed to finish my work, my whole reputation depended on it. In a few

There was an eerie silence as she walked down the corridor. Click clack click clack.. The sound of her footsteps echoed off the walls. She glanced out the window, the clouds were rolling in a deep black front. The trees were contorting from the wind, flashes of lightning illuminate her face. Those soft, caring eyes, and gorgeous brown hair. The epitome of perfection. She quickly pulls herself away from the window, she can't be distracted. Not now. Patient 13 had escaped and she was the only staff in. tick.. tick.. tick.. tick.. Time was running out, she had to find the patient before the storm hit. She had checked every floor except for this one; floor #2. Something seemed different about this floor to her. There was something off. There was no humming of equipment like there would normally be. Just silence. Rooms 210-224 were empty and untouched. All the sheets

Being only a measly volunteer for my high school HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) program, I am not allowed to participate in much, leaving a lot of down time. I hear the sound of rushed feet pacing up and down the light brown, wooden floors, and the white, florescent lights blind any who dare to gaze up. I am only here to observe surgeries and injuries, yet so far I have only managed to observe impatient nurses streamlining up and down pallid hallways. I glance upward to a clock staring at me from right across the room. It glares 8:48. I moan, realizing I have another thirty minutes before I have to head to school. I turn my head when I hear in the distance an unusually loud herd of frantic feet. Moments later the double doors blast open, paramedics, doctors, and nurses all surround one speeding bed. The transition from utter silence to sudden action throws off my relaxed and daydreaming mind, as I see the ominous bed hurdle its way into an open room down the

“Right this way,” the nurse ahead of me was prompting me to a brightly lit hall that was completely foreign to me. I couldn’t help but be terrified by the sights and sounds around me: people chattering, machines methodically beeping, gurneys rushing past. It was my first time in a hospital and my eyes frantically searched each room looking for any trace of my father. She stopped suddenly and I turned to the bed in front of me but I could not comprehend what I saw. At such a young age, I idolized my father; I had never seen him so vulnerable. Seeing him laying in a hospital bed unconscious, surrounded by wires and tubes was like witnessing Superman encounter kryptonite. My dad’s car accident not only made him a quadriplegic, but also crippled

was so bad that I was puking and everything. So I came here [name of first hospital], and

I could feel a thin sheet of fabric on top of my weak body. As I regain my conscious, I could hear repetitive beeps next to me. I turn to my left to see a heart monitor. I could see each vibrant green line waving up and down. I was in a room of white. A white blanket, white furnishings, white walls, and white marble floors. When the realization that I was in a hospital, I begin to panic. Where is my family? Where am I? How long have I been out? Just as I was going to try to move out of the bed, an outburst of doors flew open and a nurse in white walked

I had been instructed to introduce myself to the patients, so I started with the first room and began to work my way down the long and dimly lit hallway. Popping my head into each room, I quickly muttered my name and half of a greeting before rushing over to the next one. Many of the patients in the unit didn’t acknowledge me, and for that, I was grateful. It wasn’t until I had gotten to the last room, in fact, that I was even met with a

My hospital bed was ice cold and the bleak and empty white walls depressed me as the uncomforting thought that I would have to stay here for maybe another week brought tears to my eyes. The usual and oppressive smell of disinfectant lingered in the room as I recalled that night in my head, trying to convince myself it wasn’t my fault, as I had done everyday since the accident. It was the day everything changed and my life was turned upside down. Forever.

was so bad that I was puking and everything. So I came here [name of first hospital], and

Around me were machines beeping rhythmically and the sound of a faint snore. Sylvia was there, sleeping in a chair next to me. I lied there on the hospital bed, enjoying my surroundings a while before she woke up. When she did wake she immediately hugged me, crying, and called the doctor in.

The room is quiet, but outside the room is very loud and obnoxious. The place is dark with little light from the cracks from the blinds and the dimmed lights. The intercom goes on and says, “Quiet time is from 3p.m.- 4p.m. We are dimming the lights. Please be quiet during this time.” I’m sitting in the ICU with my great grandma, Ovena Lummel. The noises I hear is the breathing tube inside her mouth. It is pushing air into her lungs. She is sound asleep from the medication the doctors gave her. Nurses come in and out of the room to make sure everything is going well. Little did I know that they took her off her seizure medicine. I’ve been inside room 186 for only ten minutes. I look up and see her body shaking like crazy. Then, her body stops,

I left my car and walked towards the staff entrance, waving at some nurses who were just finishing their shifts. It was a cold and gloomy day, but the welcoming heat from the front corridor made my muscles relax. Momentarily after gathering my belongings—lab coat, name tag and clipboard—I made my way down the long, narrow hallway towards the introductory interview room. I knew my patient would be waiting.

As I abruptly woke up, my attention was drawn directly towards my knees. Scars were freshly engraved on the surface of my skin and it remained as a permanent reminder of my suffering. Dressing and bandages covered my incisions. When I attempted to move my legs, I felt the pain and tensity of my muscles. The same pain that would later devour my self-esteem and motivation. Nurses were beside my recovery bed monitoring my

I recall a warm summer afternoon when I had just arrived home from college to find the house wide open and eerily dormant. As I entered, my eyes suddenly caught hold of a bright yellow note on the counter written by my father. "Barkha, call my cell phone." My mother, who had gone to do laundry at a Laundromat, was suddenly assaulted by a stranger wearing a mask and wielding a knife. As she grabbed onto the knife, her hands chafed against the sharp edges. I recollect standing anxiously in a side room of the ER when a young physician opened the door, and in a clear, deliberate, yet empathetic manner, informed us that my mother's skin and the nerves of her hand had been torn and damaged. A lacework of I.V. lines and an oxygen mask on her face was the last thing I could ever imagine. I visually examined in astonishment the young physician's serenity and dedication.

Today is officially the first day of my nursing career, this is the day I have been looking forward to for years. Recently, I received a position as an emergency room nurse which has been my desire for as long as I can remember. The pace and the unpredictability are the factors that drew me into this field of nursing and finally, I can experience it as a registered nurse. I hear the familiar sounds of the ambulance approaching getting louder with every second, I can feel my heart thumping in my chest and perspiration develops on the palms of my hands. I know this patient will be my first case. I quickly grab a trauma gown and some gloves and head out to meet the ambulance.