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PAGE 4A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 14. 2021
The important work of the nurse
I remember a man who had suffered a
traumatic injury telling me that shortly
after his accident he believed he was
trapped in the back of a Family Dollar
unable to leave. But he wasn’t at a chain
store. No, he was in the ICU in deep
pain and confused about where he was.
The guy kind of chuckled about it
a year later as he told me of that con
fusion. Many times people laugh off
something terrible, because what do
you do with something so heavy, so
completely lacking humor and light
ness? Maybe you laugh, because there’s
nothing appropriate to fill the spot.
Maybe you laugh because you’re trying
to counteract the heaviness you know
you’re laying on another person when
you share a deep pain. Anyway, this
gentleman is the first person who comes
to mind as I try to write about nurses,
because nurses have been on my mind
so much over the past year and a half.
I guess the man came to mind,
because that nightmare sounded intense
to me, and he is yet another reminder
that the line between self-sufficiency
and complete vulnerability can be far
thinner than we acknowledge. We can
be quickly transported to another reality
through no fault of our own, completely
pained and confused. It can happen in
an instant when it’s least expected. It
can also happen through diagnosis and
decline.
And when we are forced to confront
this inherent human frailty we all share,
our mortal nature, it’s doctors who step
in to offer a plan, but it’s nurses who
care for us. Anyone who has spent time
in a hospital surely recognizes the differ
ence in the eyes that you may find there.
When you are vulnerable or you are
with a family member who is in deep
trouble, you can feel desperate in many
ways. One desperate feeling is simply:
“Do you care?” If you’re like me, then
you search for that in the eyes and
manner of each nurse and doctor, the
language beyond language. Obviously,
someone can be competent at what
they’re doing medically and be cold
and clinical, sort of inhuman. But every
physical trauma is accompanied by an
emotional one. And from the outset of
any physical upheaval, the mind works
on healing the emotional part, too. We
want empathy. We want to feel real care.
That’s why the nurse who is truly
present, who truly sees you or your
loved one and who looks out for you
through another set of eyes, like a family
In the
Meantime
zach@
mainstreet
news.com
By Zach Mitcham
member, then that nurse feels like the
greatest blessing in a scary time. I have
felt such gratitude when I’ve encoun
tered such a person and been a little sad
when they left the shift, realizing that
the same care might not be there on the
next one.
I expect that a significant number
of those who enter into nursing do so,
because they have encountered a nurse
in their own life who made an impres
sion on them. I expect that feeling of
being the helper to the truly vulnerable
is also a kind of high that can keep a
person going through hard days. The
sense of self worth that can come from
that role is really huge, because it’s
immensely valuable in a human sense.
It’s the real deal. Nurses matter so much.
But if you think of nursing in 2021
America, then you also have to think
about the numbers. These past two years
have been a kind of war. There’s been
such a sad abundance of tragic stories.
The hospitals have been slammed. And
there’s a cruelty in the air. It touches
many aspects of life.
It seems a sad absurdity that a State
Senate committee is now necessary to
study violence against health care work
ers. But that’s where we are. One veter
an north Georgia nurse recently testified
to the committee.
“I was attacked by a patient who had
already attacked one of our technicians,”
a nurse who identified herself only as
Destiny, said. “While I was trying to
de-escalate the situation, the patient
lunged at me, grabbed my hair and
twisted it in her hands. I was punched
and kicked several times; I was bit; and
she tried to drag me into the bathroom.”
According to a study from the
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, health-care workers
account for approximately 50 percent of
all victims of workplace violence.
But Deborah Bailey, executive direc
tor of government affairs at Northeast
Georgia Medical Center, told the com
mittee 75 percent of all workplace
assaults in the U.S. involve health-care
workers.
“Only 30 percent of nurses and 26
percent of physicians actually report
those incidents,” Bailey said. “Violent
altercations are so common now that
most employees consider them just part
of the daily job.”
I expect that a percentage of violent
cases are by patients who are truly not
in their right minds. If you are medically
incapacitated in a delusional way, you
may not understand what you’re doing. I
think of that man believing he was stuck
in the back room of a Family Dollar.
In such a disoriented state, I might do
something desperate to free myself.
But there are other reasons, too.
People are emotional, frustrated, sad,
angry. They may think they have a
good reason for lashing out at a health
care worker. But no, there’s just never
a good one. There’s no validation for
that — not if the service is slow, not if
the care doesn’t seem to be there, not if
the results aren’t happening. Nothing.
Health care professionals are tasked
with too much these days. There are too
many cases, too little staff. And many
nurses are getting burned out. They are
every bit as human as their vulnerable
patients.
This country needs to think about its
future in so many aspects. And health
care is one of the top concerns, with an
aging population and a risk of extreme
staffing shortages as these hard days
take their toll on health care workers,
who must deal with really intense emo
tions related to their work.
We need to thank them, not attack
them.
We need leaders to do whatever possi
ble to get more people in the profession
to meet the demand we’re going to have
in coming years.
We need to recognize that we are all
vulnerable and potentially needing the
care of someone else, no matter our
fierce willpower for the opposite. All
bodies fail.
And when we find ourselves in those
tough spots, and we are fortunate to find
real care in the eyes and manners of
another human, we need to thank that
person for their humanity. Because it’s
the tradition that has to live on — the
important work of the nurse.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The
Madison County Journal. He can be
reached at zach@mainstreetnews.com.
Letter to the Editor
Blind Mitcham
In response to Zach Mitcham’s opin
ion in the Madison County Journal Oct.
7 (“No more arson at election time.”)
Where has he been the past 10 months?
Biden is being led by the Democratic left.
He is not President.
Inflation is on the rise, the southern
border is wide open, FBI is told to subdue
citizens who speak out at school board
meetings, gas prices are way up. Military
generals should be in jail. The Afghan
screw up is monumental. I will take
Trump’s four years any day over your
boy Biden. If any of you think Biden is
doing a great job, you are dumb as dirt.
Open your eyes and ears. This country
is going down hill fast. You had better
wake up.
Sincerely,
Gene Lurwig
Danielsville
A slow goodbye to summer
Despite all of the heavy rain last
week, we have settled into a fine
pattern of lingering warmth brought
to us courtesy of a ridge of high pres
sure across the southeastern states.
A super-slow-motion low-pressure
system drenched Madison County
with four-to-eight inches of rain over
a five-day period and brought flood
ing rains of eight-to-12 inches in
parts of Jackson and Elbert coun
ties. At least 30 roads were reported
damaged (some severely) in Elbert
County.
Other areas that received in excess
of eight inches for the week were
near Toccoa, and from southern
Oglethorpe County down to the
Monticello area. But the low pres
sure is a memory now and high
pressure has established itself both
aloft and at the surface bringing
an extended stretch of dry, warm
weather. While we will have some
normal cool fronts passing through,
it appears the general pattern for fall
is setting up to be warmer than aver
age for the rest of October and into
the first part of November. I wouldn’t
be surprised to see several more days
well into the 80’s, but cooling slowly
with each passing front.
So for you summer-lovers, enjoy
it while you can. In some years
similar to this years pattern (2017,
2008) winter hit rather suddenly with
record cold in November 2008 and a
significant snow or ice storm in far
north Georgia in early December
both years. However, in 1984 a very
mild December (you could’ve had
Christmas dinner on the deck) pre
ceded a severe cold blast in January.
La Nina years like this one are known
for generally mild winters overall but
can actually be quite volatile.
The excellent long-range forecast
er Joe Bastardi of Weather Bell has
seen a pattern that starts with a cool
May, followed by an active tropical
storm season followed by extended
warmth in the fall ending with a
sudden and often strong appearance
of winter between Thanksgiving and
Christmas. Of all the years that seem
to fit the pattern of this year the best,
2008 stands out, but with one major
difference. 2008 was marked by a
very dry and hot summer (less than
6” of rain the entire summer) which
dug us into a serious drought.
The opposite is true this year. We
are now only about four inches from
our normal rainfall for the entire
year. Also 2008, while busy, did
not feature the hyper-active tropical
storm season that this year has. All
this to say that I haven’t found a real
ly close match in the weather history
books for this year. Regardless of
this, next month we plan to give you
our winter outlook forecast. Hint: it
is anything but cut and dried.
Weather averages for September,
2021: Avg. low: 62. Avg. high: 81.
Lowest: 49. Highest: 87. Mean:
71.1 (-0.9, our 6th month in a row
with below average temperatures).
Rainfall: 2.86” (-1.87”). 2021
rain total to September 30: 41.14”
(+3.23”).
Mark Jenkins is Madison County’s
cooperative weather observer.
My view
angie@mainstreetnews.com
By Angie Gary
Making memories
through music
As Mickey Gilley left the stage in Hiawassee on
a recent Saturday night, he said, “Thank you for the
memories.” He clearly enjoyed sharing the songs from
his career. He performed many of the 17 number one
hits he has had during his more than 50 years in the
business. How wonderful to still be doing what you
love at 85.
Gilley’s voice was as strong and smooth as ever as he
performed “Stand by Me” from the “Urban Cowboy”
movie, which I’m sure is always on the playlist when
he takes the stage.
Gilley told the crowd in Hiawassee, “I still have my
voice but I don’t have my legs or my hands or my
body.” He is no longer able to play the piano but he still
puts on a great show.
Gilley and Johnny Lee are performing an “Urban
Cowboy” reunion tour. Lee is 75 and came on stage
on a scooter and sat while performing. His words
were somewhat slurred while talking but he still has
that familiar smooth singing voice. After a few songs,
he said, “I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease a
while ago. I didn’t want you to think I’m drunk. I’m
not.”
In addition to his familial - hit songs, Lee sang a few
new songs he has written and he still has a talent for
writing great songs. He ended with his “Urban Cow
boy” hit, “Looking for Love,” which he stood to sing.
Lee said he is often asked if he ever gets tired of sing
ing that song. He quickly said that he doesn’t.
After Lee performed, I saw him in the back of the
theater on his scooter listening to Gilley perform.
When fans stopped to talk to him, he would pose for a
photo and chat with them for a few minutes. It’s clear
he still enjoys touring and interacting with his fans.
So impressive that these two men are still doing what
they love at their age and with their health issues.
I’m glad the “Urban Cowboy” reunion is bringing
back fond memories for Gilley and Lee. It also brought
back some fond memories for me. It’s hard to believe
it’s been over 40 years since that movie was released.
The music for a movie is usually just background
music but that wasn’t the case with “Urban Cowboy.”
The songs of Gilley and Lee advanced the storyline
and the romance of Bud and Sissy and was an integral
part of the movie.
It was fun to hear Lee and Gilley performing and I’m
inspired to know they are still touring at 85 and 75.
The concert was at the Georgia Mountain Fair
grounds in Hiawassee. If you haven’t been to a concert
here, you should check it out. It’s a great venue. Not
really a bad seat as far as seeing the stage goes but I do
prefer the chairs up front to the benches in the back.
Angie Gary is editor of The Banks County News, a
sister paper of The Madison County Journal. She can
be reached at angie@mainstreetnews.com.
Have a letter you want published?
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The Madison
County Journal
(Merged with The Danielsville Monitor
and The Comer News, January 2006)
Phone: 706-367-5233
E-mail: zach@mainstreetnews.com
ZACH MITCHAM, Editor
MARGIE RICHARDS, Reporter
MIKE BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
FRANK GILLISPIE (deceased), Founder of The Journal.
Jere Ayers (deceased) former owner
of The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News
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- The Official Legal Organ of Madison County, Georgia
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