Why I Write About The Heart

My first experience with the human heart was when I was 12 years old. I was at a skating rink and saw a young man slip and fall. He lay there for a few moments while onlookers assumed he was embarrassed or getting ready to pop back up. Then, gradually, people started to gather around. Out of nowhere, someone ran onto the ice, dropped to their knees, and began CPR.

The young man died that day.

That memory still sits poignantly with me today, influencing my career as a critical care nurse. I watch my patients’ heart rhythms all day long.

Now, when the ECG monitors are alarming because a patient’s heart is in an abnormal rhythm, I run to help, and many times I have to start CPR.

I still think of that young man at the skating rink whenever I do chest compressions. The difference is that I understand how the heart works and why it doesn’t. And he’s no longer a mystery to me.