It's Personal ~ 2

This is my signed copy of Father Martin's book.

Puzzling over what I would write today, I thought to myself: I have nothing in my head, no story to tell….wait... I do have a story to tell. It really is kind of a combination of stories. A story about personal belief.

It was June 1989. I was in Hobbs, New Mexico with friends listening to Father Joseph C. Martin, a Roman Catholic priest who presented the topic of alcoholism in a humorous but serious manner. He was presenting a ‘Chalk Talk’ on Alcoholism, dubbed Chalk Talks because he always used a green chalk board and chalk to outline his points. My understanding was that he originated these talks for the military, but they became so popular that they were expanded to other audiences and treatment centres. Father Martin has since passed away, but I found a series of these Chalk Talks on Alcoholism on You-tube this afternoon. In the talk that I chose, he reviewed the similarities between being anaesthetized before surgery, the behaviours because of the sedatives and the serious risks that are present with sedation. Even for minor surgeries. 

Now I’ll back up a few years. It was still in the eighties, long before I was considering a career in Addiction Nursing. Actually I didn’t even know that there was a specialty for addictions nursing. I was working on a medical unit in Regina at the time so my patients were admitted for medical reasons. Many were actually there for alcohol withdrawal. It was while I was caring for these clients that I began to consider that it was like someone coming out of surgery. The more I thought about it, the more I believed that the nursing care for withdrawal from alcohol would be similar to the nursing care for someone coming out of anaesthetic. I have maintained that belief since that time. Today, I can include in that belief, opiates as they are often part of the drug cocktail that is used in anaesthesia. The opiates, however, continue in use for pain control in a longer term recovery period and may continue once discharged home.

This Chalk Talk I listened to today restored my belief in my own belief! Alcohol and drugs affect the brain as an organ. Alcohol and drugs alter behaviour. Not everyone becomes addicted to either, but it does occur to some. Why? I have no idea. Anymore than I know why I have epilepsy, a brother had epilepsy and the rest of my siblings do not. What I do know for sure is that withdrawal management for alcohol and or drugs, outside of any political hot potato issues, is critical to recovery and should not be taken lightly. Brain damage is brain damage and should be recognized as a critical issue for those who wish to get that monkey permanently off their back. In nursing and in medicine, the care that we take with our patients can support their opportunity to recover, or can deal a too heavy blow.

“My belief is you have one chance to make a first impression.”

~ Kevin McCarthy