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Alone With A Dead Man
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Alone With A Dead Man  When I was 19, I got a job as an orderly at a small hospital working 3rd shift. It was an eye opening experience for me as I was exposed to various forms of human suffering, and also the means to lessen that suffering. The first week I was there, I was told to go to a floor that I had not been to yet. The guy who was training me took me to a room, and there on the bed lay a dead man. He was lying on his back with his mouth wide open, sightless eyes staring at the ceiling. I asked what had happened to him, and was told that he was an alcoholic who had succumbed to cirrhosis of the liver. He had expired only minutes before. Just then the trainer guy was paged, and he told me to wait for him until he returned, then we would "fix" him. He left, and I was in the room alone with the dead man. I did not even know his name. I was not comfortable with this at all, but not wanting to make an issue of it I sat down near the bed and waited. In the silence of that room I sat there and pondered the end of life, and I vowed to myself that I would try not to drink so much as I had been in recent months so I would not end up like the man lying before me. Suddenly, along with my thoughts, the silence was broken. The dead man began making noises. My eyes got big and round, and my heart started racing as it seemed to me that the man was gasping! Struggling to breath. Warily I got up and approached the bed. He did not appear to be breathing, but he sure was making all manner of croaks and popping sounds. To say I was freaking out would be an understatement. I'm thinking that this guy wasn't all the way dead, maybe he was almost dead but something was still alive inside. Or possibly a miracle was occurring. I thought I should run for a nurse or a doctor or something. Or maybe just run out the front door and not look back. At this juncture the orderly who was training me returned. Excitedly I told him what I had seen, that this guy wasn't dead, and I asked if I should call the nurse. Much to my chagrin the trainer guy just burst out laughing. When he calmed down enough (it sure seemed disrespectful to me to laugh like that over the newly dead), he told me that the sounds I was hearing were the gasses escaping from the body through the mouth and nose. Then, under his guidance, we "fixed" him. We pulled the sheet off of his body and standing on either side of the bed I assisted him in straightening out his limbs and we crossed his arms on top of his chest. I will never forget lifting that limp dead arm, without resistance, yet with a weight that seemed heavier than it ought to. We gathered the dead man's personal items together and left the room at last. His next journey was in the care of the undertaker. The inescapable fact of life is that it does end. One day perhaps someone will "fix" me, and maybe even laugh over my lifeless body. It matters little, as death is the great equalizer no matter our station - when once we walked upon the earth. (sorry for the morbidity of this post, I've been watching a lot of zombie movies lately). |
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I can imagine that your experience was freaky; don't know what I would have done in your position. AKA The Clit Whisperer. 
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5/15/2010 9:50 pm |
You're more braver than I would be, I'd of left the room screaming in hysterics! I suppose that term "Dead Weight" is true then? A Thing Of Beauty
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Spooky. Thanks for sharing this life experience with us. Now I think zombies are just some sort of retarded vampires. Now, I'm not into this new vampire/zombie craze, but I did like the Anne Rice vampires.
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I can imagine that your experience was freaky; don't know what I would have done in your position.  blog on!
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You're more braver than I would be, I'd of left the room screaming in hysterics! I suppose that term "Dead Weight" is true then?  Anyway, I was surprised at how heavy it actually was. If I was brave, it was only because I hadn't seen any zombie movies yet.  Thanks for visiting The Venting Blog! blog on!
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I felt sorta stupid at the time. Like I should have known what was going on. Oh well, that's how we learn best, I guess. Experience. I've been on a serious zombie-fest recently. I haven't really paid much attention to them in the past, but have found them to be quite entertaining. It's nice to see you here again, redlove!  blog on!
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That was an interesting story.. Although I would have shit my pants if I were in your place... Then there would have been two to fix up.
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The only dead people I have ever had experience with were my parents. The one thing I noticed was that they became fairly stiff and looked waxy before they died. i was not alone with either one when they died. I had gone home for a shower and food when my father passed, and i was called to come back. When my mother passed, my sister and I were both asleep and my sister came and got me. We had been at her side all day, and she waited until we were asleep. we didn't have any last words as both were in a coma before they died. it is strange when you aren't used to it. "Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened." 
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Wow! That is intense. There, interacting at the moment of death. It is not so sad as it is beautiful. She did not die alone. Thank you, for enriching this post with your story. blog on!
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that was quite an experience for a 19 year old to have gone through ,in away you very lucky to have went through it though.
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Oh my! I would find such a post very interesting, missyme. I hope you write it. blog on!
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That was an interesting story.. Although I would have shit my pants if I were in your place... Then there would have been two to fix up. blog on!
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Hello, girlfriend. 
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The only dead people I have ever had experience with were my parents. The one thing I noticed was that they became fairly stiff and looked waxy before they died. i was not alone with either one when they died. I had gone home for a shower and food when my father passed, and i was called to come back. When my mother passed, my sister and I were both asleep and my sister came and got me. We had been at her side all day, and she waited until we were asleep. we didn't have any last words as both were in a coma before they died. it is strange when you aren't used to it.  blog on!
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Okay, if my guy had sat up I admit that I would have been outta that room faster than I have ever exited a room before. Thanks for adding your story to this post. The comments have been thought-provoking and insightful. blog on!
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that was quite an experience for a 19 year old to have gone through ,in away you very lucky to have went through it though. blog on!
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Now that I am on my own for the first time in my life and responsible for my son and myself I think about death quite a bit. Lying in bed alone at night in the dark is a perfect playground for such thoughts to come out and play. I also think about it every time I cross a bridge on my way to work on the highway. For some reason that bridge haunts me. I get the feeling that is where I may breathe my last breath someday. I just hope that someday is way, way, way in the future! Thanks for the post. And, *sweet hugs*
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when i read this it reminded me a bit of my experience with a dead body for the first time, washing and laying out someone who was dead was a very strange feeling, but having been a care assistant for many years that dead body was the first of many, the sounds and noises that come from some as they leave this world and join the next is very spooky indeed. big hugs xoxoxo Life is what we make it, so let's make it good!!!  come visit my blog bettiebear Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away.     
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Now that I am on my own for the first time in my life and responsible for my son and myself I think about death quite a bit. Lying in bed alone at night in the dark is a perfect playground for such thoughts to come out and play. I also think about it every time I cross a bridge on my way to work on the highway. For some reason that bridge haunts me. I get the feeling that is where I may breathe my last breath someday. I just hope that someday is way, way, way in the future! Thanks for the post. And, *sweet hugs*  Thanks for commenting on this difficult subject. (and for giving me an opportunity to use that biting fingers smiley) blog on!
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Oh! How horrible!  I am sorry for your loss, meetincognito. That is indeed tragic, and I get your point. For some, death is personal. Intensely so. For others, it's just something that happens to other folks, (thankful that their own time has not come, perhaps). Thank you so much for sharing with us, and blog on!
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LOL, I can so relate. I nearly did exactly that, it was so unsettling. blog on!
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when i read this it reminded me a bit of my experience with a dead body for the first time, washing and laying out someone who was dead was a very strange feeling, but having been a care assistant for many years that dead body was the first of many, the sounds and noises that come from some as they leave this world and join the next is very spooky indeed. big hugs xoxoxo blog on!
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interesting post, my mom died this February and two of my cousins died this past weekend. My mom was 2 weeks short of 82, but the two cousins were 43 and 51. The one died two days after his 25th wedding anniversary. Curiously, most of my relatives are quite heavy, these two were thin. Blog on! (there's hardly anybody I used to talk to left) Wild Crosswords increase your vocabulary. Cross words increase your blood pressure.
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loved it my friend...as we walk on this earth we shall be carried in death to the next place!!!!hmmmm a free ride even in death i think not  ....  []   Seduce my mind and my body
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7/22/2010 12:45 am |
No fucken way! I refuse to die. Im gunna live forever Recent post: [post 2369941]
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