he might not show the usual signs of infection and did
have a little rash starting, I was definitely thinking that
he may have an infected catheter. I wanted to get him
out of bed, but he said he was tired and didn’t want to
get up. He just didn’t seem right, so I asked the nurse
who cared for him the last 3 days if he had been up and
active. She said he had. J.K.’s mother came, and I met
her at the door. I asked her if J.K. seemed to be a little
lethargic to her, and she agreed that he did. He vomited
once after she arrived, and she began to cry. I sat with
her and answered her questions about what I thought
was happening. I excused myself and told her I’d be
back in just a few minutes, but I needed to call the doctor
to get orders for labs and x-ray. I assured her she
would have an opportunity to discuss everything with
the doctor and asked her if she would like to accompany
J.K. to any tests or diagnostics that may require him
to leave the floor. I could tell it was important to her to
participate in all of the decisions around J.K.’s care. I
also took a quick look at J.K.’s admission assessment
and found that his mother was a single mom and had
been going through some hard times. I considered calling
for a social worker and minister but wanted to wait
and talk to her a bit more before I did that.