SMOKING!! The RN vs. CF...

I found myself in a tough place yesterday at work. I had a patient call and ask about if she was able to smoke before she came in for her procedure because of her "nerves." Of course I told her no way, but I actually had to convince her as to why. This slightly boggled my mind, and my brain had a hard time comprehending it. Well the CF side of my brain anyway...

I sat there on the phone with her telling her the risks of anesthesia causing respiratory depression and that cigarettes on top of that do not work (in a nut shell). I found myself quietly frustrated. I had to remind myself that this woman has no clue that I have a lung disease and how pissed off I am right now. She's just calling her nurse for advice, and that was who I had to be and was for her, her Nurse. This woman never knew how much I wanted to blurt out and somewhat go off the handle about lungs period. How she is a typically healthy woman who is choosing to kill her lungs, when those of us born with CF have no choice but to try and stop that from happening.

I hung up the phone with her after I gave her the Nurse's side of my advice. The CF side of me was frustrated, but proud of how I kept my composure and did my job. I then went off to the gym for my "other job" of keeping my lungs as best as they can be.