Communicating Discomfort

Jenn Grover was in to visit Ian tonight. She called me to report her experience with him. She said that at one point his eyes were open, but he was blinking a lot. He was moving his jaw a lot, too, and his heart rate was way up. She thought he might be uncomfortable, so she asked him if he was. She said, “Ian if you’re uncomfortable squeeze my hand.” She happened to have her hand on his right hand when she said it. He moved his left hand across his body to get her hand, and he took it and squeezed it. She asked him to squeeze again if he wanted to lay flat on the bed. Again, he squeezed her hand. She reported her experience to the nursing staff, so they came in and moved him to his back. He stopped blinking so rapidly and moving his jaw and his heart rate went way down. Pretty cool, huh?

Steve