A tribute to nurses | Carolyn Jones

Translator: Claudia Ríos García Reviewer: Serv. de Norm. Lingüística U. de Santiago de Compostela

As patients,

Como pacientes,

we usually remember the names of our doctors,

adoitamos lembrar os nomes dos nosos médicos,

but often we forget the names of our nurses.

pero a miúdo esquecemos os nomes dos nosos enfermeiros.

I remember one.

Eu recordo unha.

I had breast cancer a few years ago,

Hai uns anos, tiven cancro de mama,

and somehow I managed to get through the surgeries

e dalgunha maneira logrei superar as operacións

and the beginning of the treatment just fine.

e o comezo do tratamento bastante ben.

I could hide what was going on.

Podía ocultar o que estaba a ocorrer.

Everybody didn't really have to know.

Ninguén tiña por que sabelo.

I could walk my daughter to school,

Podía levar a miña filla ao colexio,

I could go out to dinner with my husband;

podía saír cear co meu marido;

I could fool people.

podía enganar a xente.

But then my chemo was scheduled to begin

Pero logo chegou a quimio

and that terrified me

e iso aterrábame

because I knew that I was going to lose every single hair on my body

porque sabía que ía perder todo o pelo do corpo

because of the kind of chemo that I was going to have.

polo tipo de quimio que ía recibir.

I wasn't going to be able to pretend anymore

Xa non podería seguir finxindo

as though everything was normal.

que todo estaba normal.

I was scared.

Estaba asustada.

I knew what it felt like to have everybody treating me with kid gloves,

Sabía o que era que todos te tratasen con pinzas

and I just wanted to feel normal.

e simplemente quería sentirme normal.

I had a port installed in my chest.

Tiña un catéter no peito.

I went to my first day of chemotherapy,

Fun ao meu primeiro día de quimioterapia,

and I was an emotional wreck.

e estaba moi mal de ánimo.

My nurse, Joanne, walked in the door,

A miña enfermeira, Joanne, entrou pola porta,

and every bone in my body was telling me to get up out of that chair

e cada óso do meu corpo estábame pedindo

and take for the hills.

que me levantase daquela cadeira e fuxira.

But Joanne looked at me and talked to me like we were old friends.

Pero Joanne miroume e faloume como se fósemos vellas amigas.

And then she asked me,

E logo preguntoume:

"Where'd you get your highlights done?"

"Onde fixeches as mechas?"

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And I was like, are you kidding me?

Pensei: "Estás de broma?"

You're going to talk to me about my hair when I'm on the verge of losing it?

"Fálasme do meu cabelo cando estou a punto de perdelo?"

I was kind of angry,

Enfadeime un pouco

and I said, "Really? Hair?"

e díxenlle: "En serio? Estasme preguntando polo pelo?"

And with a shrug of her shoulders she said,

E encollendo os ombreiros díxome:

"It's gonna grow back."

"Volverá medrar."

And in that moment she said the one thing I had overlooked,

Nese momento díxome a única cousa que eu pasara por alto:

and that was that at some point, my life would get back to normal.

que, algún día, a miña vida volvería á normalidade.

She really believed that.

Ela críao realmente.

And so I believed it, too.

Así que eu tamén o crin.

Now, worrying about losing your hair when you're fighting cancer

Preocuparse pola perda do cabelo cando un loita contra o cancro

may seem silly at first,

poder parecer unha parvada ao principio,

but it's not just that you're worried about how you're going to look.

pero non é que un só se preocupe polo aspecto,

It's that you're worried that everybody's going to treat you so carefully.

senón porque todo o mundo te tratará con demasiado coidado.

Joanne made me feel normal for the first time in six months.

Joanne fíxome sentir normal por primeira vez en seis meses.

We talked about her boyfriends,

Falamos dos seus mozos,

we talked about looking for apartments in New York City,

de buscar apartamento en Nova York,

and we talked about my reaction to the chemotherapy --

e da miña reacción á quimioterapia.

all kind of mixed in together.

Todo ao mesmo tempo.

And I always wondered,

Eu sempre me preguntaba

how did she so instinctively know just how to talk to me?

"como soubo tan instintivamente como falarme?"

Joanne Staha and my admiration for her

Joanne Staha e a miña admiración cara a ela

marked the beginning of my journey into the world of nurses.

marcaron o comezo da miña viaxe no mundo da enfermaría.

A few years later, I was asked to do a project

Uns anos despois, pedíronme que fixera un proxecto

that would celebrate the work that nurses do.

para celebrar o traballo realizado polos enfermeiros.

I started with Joanne,

Empecei con Joanne

and I met over 100 nurses across the country.

e coñecín a máis de cen enfermeiros de todo o país.

I spent five years interviewing, photographing and filming nurses

Pasei cinco anos entrevistando, fotografando e filmando enfermeiros

for a book and a documentary film.

para un libro e un documental.

With my team,

Planifiquei co meu equipo unha viaxe por Estados Unidos

we mapped a trip across America that would take us to places

que nos levaría aos lugares que afrontan

dealing with some of the biggest public health issues facing our nation --

algúns dos problemas máis grandes de saúde pública da nosa nación:

aging, war, poverty, prisons.

o envellecemento, a guerra, a pobreza, a prisión...

And then we went places

E despois fomos a lugares

where we would find the largest concentration of patients

onde encontramos a maior concentración

dealing with those issues.

de pacientes que afrontan eses problemas.

Then we asked hospitals and facilities to nominate nurses

Logo pedímoslles aos hospitais e a centros que nomearan os enfermeiros

who would best represent them.

que mellor os representasen.

One of the first nurses I met was Bridget Kumbella.

Unha das primeiras enfermeiras que coñecín foi Bridget Kumbella.

Bridget was born in Cameroon,

Bridget naceu en Camerún,

the oldest of four children.

é a maior de catro irmáns.

Her father was at work when he had fallen from the fourth floor

Seu pai estaba traballando cando caeu dun cuarto piso

and really hurt his back.

e lesionou gravemente o lombo.

And he talked a lot about what it was like to be flat on your back

El falou moito do que era

estar deitado boca arriba e non recibir o tratamento necesario.

and not get the kind of care that you need.

And that propelled Bridget to go into the profession of nursing.

Iso impulsou a Bridget cara á enfermaría.

Now, as a nurse in the Bronx,

Agora, como enfermeira no Bronx,

she has a really diverse group of patients that she cares for,

coida un grupo moi diverso de pacientes

from all walks of life,

de tódalas clases e relixións.

and from all different religions.

And she's devoted her career to understanding the impact

Dedicou a súa carreira a comprender o impacto

of our cultural differences when it comes to our health.

das diferenzas culturais en materia de saúde.

She spoke of a patient --

Ela falounos dun paciente,

a Native American patient that she had --

un paciente aborixe,

que quería ingresar na UCI cunha manchea de plumas

that wanted to bring a bunch of feathers into the ICU.

That's how he found spiritual comfort.

Así atopaba el o consolo espiritual.

And she spoke of advocating for him

Contounos como o apoiou

and said that patients come from all different religions

e dixo que os pacientes teñen relixións diferentes

and use all different kinds of objects for comfort;

e que usan todo tipo de obxectos como consolo espiritual;

whether it's a holy rosary or a symbolic feather,

e sexa un santo rosario ou unha pluma simbólica,

it all needs to be supported.

todo debe apoiarse.

This is Jason Short.

Este é Jason Short.

Jason is a home health nurse in the Appalachian mountains,

É enfermeiro de asistencia domiciliaria nos montes Apalaches,

and his dad had a gas station and a repair shop when he was growing up.

e o seu pai tiña unha gasolineira e un taller cando el era pequeno.

So he worked on cars in the community that he now serves as a nurse.

Así que ocupábase de coches na comunidade na que agora traballa de enfermeiro.

When he was in college,

Cando estaba na universidade,

it was just not macho at all to become a nurse,

non era moi masculino ser enfermeiro,

so he avoided it for years.

así que evitou este traballo durante anos.

He drove trucks for a little while,

Durante un tempo foi camioneiro,

but his life path was always pulling him back to nursing.

pero os camiños da vida levárono de novo á enfermaría.

Como enfermeiro nos Apalaches,

As a nurse in the Appalachian mountains,

Jason goes places that an ambulance can't even get to.

Jason vai a lugares aos que nin sequera unha ambulancia pode chegar.

In this photograph, he's standing in what used to be a road.

Nesta foto, está posando no medio do que antes era un camiño.

Top of the mountain mining flooded that road,

A minería de montaña inundou ese camiño

and now the only way for Jason to get to the patient

e a única maneira que ten Jason de chegar ao paciente

que vive nesa casa con pneumoconiose

living in that house with black lung disease

is to drive his SUV against the current up that creek.

é conducir o seu todoterreo a contracorrente por ese arroio.

The day I was with him, we ripped the front fender off the car.

Cando fun con el, arrancamos o parachoques dianteiro do coche.

The next morning he got up, put the car on the lift,

Á mañá seguinte ergueuse,

puxo o coche na foxa, reparou o parachoques

fixed the fender,

and then headed out to meet his next patient.

e despois foi ver o seu próximo paciente.

I witnessed Jason caring for this gentleman

Fun testemuña de como Jason coidou a ese señor

with such enormous compassion,

cunha compaixón enorme,

and I was struck again by how intimate the work of nursing really is.

e sorprendeume de novo o íntimo do traballo da enfermaría.

When I met Brian McMillion, he was raw.

Cando coñecín a Brian McMillion, era un novato.

He had just come back from a deployment

Acababa de volver dunha misión

and he hadn't really settled back in to life in San Diego yet.

e aínda non se acomodara de novo á vida en San Diego.

He talked about his experience of being a nurse in Germany

Falou da súa experiencia como enfermeiro en Alemaña,

and taking care of the soldiers coming right off the battlefield.

e de como coidou os soldados que regresaban de combater.

Very often, he would be the first person they would see

A miúdo, el era a primeira persoa que vían

when they opened their eyes in the hospital.

ao abriren os ollos no hospital.

And they would look at him as they were lying there,

Na cama e con membros amputados, o primeiro que lle dicían era:

missing limbs,

and the first thing they would say is,

"When can I go back? I left my brothers out there."

"Cando podo volver? Deixei os meus compañeiros alí."

And Brian would have to say,

E Brian dicíalles:

"You're not going anywhere.

"Non vas ir a ningures. Xa fixeches abondo, meu."

You've already given enough, brother."

Brian is both a nurse and a soldier who's seen combat.

Brian é a vez un enfermeiro e un soldado que estivo en combate.

So that puts him in a unique position

Está nunha posición privilexiada

to be able to relate to and help heal the veterans in his care.

que lle permite empatizar e axudar a curar os veteranos que atende.

This is Sister Stephen,

Esta é a irmá Stephen.

and she runs a nursing home in Wisconsin called Villa Loretto.

Ela dirixe un fogar de anciáns chamado Villa Loretto en Wisconsin.

And the entire circle of life can be found under her roof.

E baixo o seu teito pódese encontrar todo tipo de vida.

She grew up wishing they lived on a farm,

Medrou desexando vivir nunha granxa,

so given the opportunity to adopt local farm animals,

así que ao ter a oportunidade de adoptar animais de granxa,

she enthusiastically brings them in.

acolleunos entusiasmada.

And in the springtime, those animals have babies.

Na primavera, eses animais teñen crías.

And Sister Stephen uses those baby ducks, goats and lambs

E a irmá Stephen usa eses parrulos, cabuxas e años

as animal therapy for the residents at Villa Loretto

como zooterapia para os residentes de Villa Loretto

who sometimes can't remember their own name,

que ás veces non poden recordar os seus propios nomes,

but they do rejoice in the holding of a baby lamb.

pero que se alegran de termar coas súas mans dun añiño.

The day I was with Sister Stephen,

O día que estiven coa irmá Stephen,

I needed to take her away from Villa Loretto

tiña que sacala de Villa Loretto para rodar parte da súa historia.

to film part of her story.

And before we left,

E antes de marcharmos entrou no cuarto dun paciente terminal.

she went into the room of a dying patient.

And she leaned over and she said,

Inclinouse e dixo:

"I have to go away for the day,

"Teño que marchar durante o día,

but if Jesus calls you,

pero se Xesús te chama,

you go.

ti vaite.

You go straight home to Jesus."

Vaite directo á casa de Xesús".

I was standing there and thinking

Quedeime alí, pensando

it was the first time in my life

que era a primeira vez na miña vida

I witnessed that you could show someone you love them completely

que fun testemuña de que se lle podía mostrar amor incondicional a alguén

by letting go.

deixándoo ir.

We don't have to hold on so tightly.

Non temos que aferrarnos tanto.

I saw more life rolled up at Villa Loretto

Vin máis vida en Villa Loretto

than I have ever seen at any other time at any other place in my life.

ca en ningún outro momento e en ningún outro lugar na miña vida.

We live in a complicated time when it comes to our health care.

Vivimos tempos complicados no que á saúde respecta.

It's easy to lose sight of the need for quality of life,

É fácil perder de vista a necesidade

de calidade de vida fronte a cantidade de vida.

not just quantity of life.

As new life-saving technologies are created,

Conforme se creen novas tecnoloxías que salven vidas,

we're going to have really complicated decisions to make.

teremos que tomar máis decisións complicadas.

These technologies often save lives,

Estas tecnoloxías a miúdo salvan vidas,

but they can also prolong pain and the dying process.

pero tamén poden prolongar a dor e a agonía da morte.

How in the world are we supposed to navigate these waters?

Como se supón que lidaremos con isto?

We're going to need all the help we can get.

Necesitaremos toda a axuda posible.

Nurses have a really unique relationship with us

Os enfermeiros teñen unha relación única con nós

because of the time spent at bedside.

porque pasan tempo a carón da nosa cama.

During that time,

Durante ese tempo créase unha certa intimidade emocional.

a kind of emotional intimacy develops.

This past summer, on August 9,

O pasado verán, o 9 de agosto,

meu pai morreu dun ataque ao corazón.

my father died of a heart attack.

My mother was devastated,

Miña nai estaba desfeita

and she couldn't imagine her world without him in it.

e non podía imaxinar o seu mundo sen el.

Four days later she fell,

Catro días despois caeu, rompeu a cadeira,

she broke her hip,

she needed surgery

necesitaba cirurxía e atopouse loitando pola súa propia vida.

and she found herself fighting for her own life.

Once again I found myself

Unha vez máis encontreime

on the receiving end of the care of nurses --

recibindo o coidado dos enfermeiros...

this time for my mom.

esta vez para a miña nai.

My brother and my sister and I stayed by her side

Meu irmán, miña irmá e mais eu quedamos ao seu lado

for the next three days in the ICU.

os tres seguintes días na UCI.

And as we tried to make the right decisions

Mentres tratábamos de tomar as decisións correctas

and follow my mother's wishes,

e cumprir os desexos da miña nai,

we found that we were depending upon the guidance of nurses.

descubrimos que dependíamos dos consellos dos enfermeiros.

And once again,

E unha vez máis,

they didn't let us down.

non nos defraudaron.

They had an amazing insight in terms of how to care for my mom

Tiveron unha visión incrible

sobre como coidar a miña nai nos seus últimos catro días de vida.

in the last four days of her life.

They brought her comfort and relief from pain.

Ofrecéronlle consolo, aliviáronlle a dor.

Souberon animarnos a miña irmá e a min para poñerlle un camisón bonito a mamá,

They knew to encourage my sister and I to put a pretty nightgown on my mom,

long after it mattered to her,

moito despois de que a ela xa non lle importara,

but it sure meant a lot to us.

pero si, e moito, a nós.

And they knew to come and wake me up just in time for my mom's last breath.

Souberon espertarme xusto a tempo para o último alento de miña nai.

E logo souberon canto tempo deixarme no cuarto con ela

And then they knew how long to leave me in the room

with my mother after she died.

despois da súa morte.

I have no idea how they know these things,

Non teño nin idea de como saben esas cousas,

but I do know that I am eternally grateful

pero si sei que lles estou eternamente agradecida

that they've guided me once again.

por guiarme unha vez máis.

Thank you so very much.

Moitas grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)