How do we expect humans to treat animals with respect when we don't treat humans

[Jennifer and Jack]

Today I worked, I have a pretty low stress nursing job that I do once a week, Anything is low stress when you compare to trauma nursing I suppose but in general it is a low stress happy place or non critical area.

 

I had two patients, (well I had a lot more then that) but these two stuck out in my head. One lady was waiting to go home, she was to come back for surgery in a few days. She was so high maintenance, demanding to everyone. I don't mind since I don't work very often and I love a challenge. Her husband was astounding. He catered to her every whim.

 

Down the hall, I had another patient, this time it was a man. He was ready to go home, He was good, no surgery or procedure needed, His wife sat by his side and was trying to help him get ready to go home, He screamed at her, He shamed her loudly and I think he may have slapped her. I didn't get behind the curtain fast enough to see.

 

I am not naive. I really am not. We all have our secrets and I have mine but how can a grown up man, be so disrespectful to his own wife that he would loudly call her names and humiliate her, when all she was trying to do is help him dress.

 

I have to be very careful not to over step my bounds as a nurse and technically the man was my patient not the wife. I swear it was all I could do  not to have a knee jerk reaction. I would for sure loose my job. I did tell the man it is not acceptable to swear here or speak to his wife so loudly and rudely. I wish I could have done more. How do we expect humans to treat dogs and cats with respect when some don't even treat their loved ones that way..

 

Sometimes I hate humans....I wish I could have taken that women home with me.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

I would assume you could always call a social worker based on you observations....that way it is at least on file.. bless you.. for I would NOT have the patience!!

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

I would be out of a job....you are a rock and I think what you said may have shamed him slightly but men like that cannot be shamed easily.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I grew up in a home where my father belittled and criticized my mother, sister and me constantly.  Even though you would have liked to have said or done more, the woman will only suffer more for anything you might have done or said. This kind of abuse is not stopped because someone defends the abused. The abuser just gets more irate. I cannot imagine that a social worker would investigate in a way that could change things. The woman would have to defend herself and I imagine she is unable to do that.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I know what you're talking about.  Last summer, while at the hospital visiting my husband (who had just had heart valve replacement surgery), I took a lunch break and decided to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.  On the next bench sat a man and his wife.  He was being incredibly verbally abusive to her.  It took every ounce of self control on my part to not get involved.  Clearly, hospitals can evoke a great deal of stress and I realize that I didn't know this couple's "back story" but their behavior was totally unacceptable; however, I also realized that my involvement, while perhaps making me feel better, was not going to help the woman and might have even gotten him angrier at her.

[Lindsey]

Ughhhh, nice self control! I too have a hard time with humans at times, lol. I like how you said you wanted to "take her home" :-)

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Good for you for saying what you could, it maybe made him think a bit. My mother inlaw just had surgery on her ankle and my father inlaw took off his part time job to take care of her. She was clearly not ready to come home and he was already upset that they were sending her home when she was still feeling extreme nausea and throwing up. Once they got her home my husband went to helo her get in and settled. She was still so out of it she could hardly talk loud enough and he snapped at her to quit mumbling and my husband then got yelled at for something and he asked his dad what the heck are you yelling at me for? A bit later she had to get outof the wheelchair onto the couch and he said she will have to start doing things for herself since someone is not always going to be there to help her! I thought this was awful and I'm thankful I was not there but my husband told him that she just got home and is very weak etc, and he needs to calm down. He then tod his mom that she can just call him if she needs anything at all because he was also on vacation that week we helped as well as his sisters and niece as much that we could. I think the stress is very high and he's not used to dealing with this, they are all loving good people. But then she became stubborn and wouldn't ask for help at all, that same night she got herself up out of bed into the wheel chair to the commode to use the bathroom and the next morning she was up before him sitting in her chair. She just didn't want to get yelled at again (and she probably wanted him to go back to work)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Too bad the man didn't need a shot or some other something that could be made a bit painful.... or maybe his pants could have disappeared and he would have had to go home in a hospital gown.....

[Jennifer Tramell]

Isn't it interesting that we can be more polite to strangers who we don't really care about than we are to our family who we supposedly love?  One of the things that immediately attracted me to my husband was the way he treated his mother.  I have no respect or tolerance for people who treat their spouse with a critical, rude attitude.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Me either, I understand not feeling good, I understand drugs making you groggy and cranky, I understand frustration, Trust me I do. I live there a lot of the times since I am very seldom able to do something that my body doesn't allow, I have never and I hope I never do use that as an excuse to be so rude to someone.

 

When I was younger, late teens early twenty's I was with someone who could cut you in half with his words and often did, I was naive then and didn't know any better. I think that people need to remember seriously, if you don't want someone to say, do, or act that way to you, then why would you ever say, do or act that way to them??? This is where I am dumb and I am missing something because to me that is very simple.

 

 

[Jennifer Tramell]

Agree, agree, agree.  We are taught the Golden Rule as kids: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  To bad we don't remember it as adults.