From when she was a child taking care of her sick parents to her current position on an ICU team in one of Canada’s largest hospitals, there have always been daunting challenges and worthy rewards for her work. Tilda Shalof has been a caregiver all her life-at home for her family, at work for strangers-but her skills didn’t come easily. The drama, the sardonic humour, the grinding workload, the cheerful camaraderie, the big issues and the small, all are brought vividly to life in this remarkable book.The bestselling author of A Nurse’s Story is back with more insider stories. Shalof, a veteran ICU nurse, reveals what it is really like to work behind the closed hospital curtains.
She was totally focused, in her element, in control, completely at home with the chaos. She was doing five different things at the same time, planning ahead for another five. Shalof describes a colleague who is managing a “crashing” patient: “I looked at her. It all took its toll on the staff.Īnd yet, on good days, they thrived on what they did.
A woman rescued – too late – from a burning house. A boy struck down by a cerebral aneurysm in the middle of a little-league hockey game. A number of patients were admitted when it was too late even for heroic measures. Doctors and nurses alike wondered if what they did for terminally-ill patients was not, in some cases, too extreme. With their skill, dedication, and the resources of modern science, they sometimes were almost too successful. Many patients, quite simply, were dying, and the staff strove mightily to prolong their lives. Working in the ICU was both emotionally grueling and physically exhausting. The others accused her of being “sooo sensitive.”
Justine, the union rep, wore t-shirts emblazoned with defiant slogans, like “Nurses Care But It’s Not in the Budget.” Shalof was the one who had been to university. Frances, from Newfoundland, was famous for her improvised recipes. Laura set the tone with her quick remarks. The team of nurses that Tilda Shalof found herself working with in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a big-city hospital was known as “Laura’s Line.” They were a bit wild: smart, funny, disrespectful of authority, but also caring and incredibly committed to their jobs.
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