One day someone asked me, “How often do you visit your patients?”

“On a regular basis,” I answered.

As we walked past a room where one of my patients lay, this person asked, “Do you visit non-responsive patients like her?” The question shocked me. “Yes, I do,” I replied defensively.“Patients like her,” I thought, “give me some of my most inspiring visits.”

For instance, I recently visited a new female patient who lay in bed with a feeding tube and contracted limbs. She was unable to speak. We made eye contact, however, and I kneeled at her bedside and introduced myself. Knowing that she was of a Christian denomination, I began sharing scripture with her.

I also began to sing hymns. During these songs, she’d turn her head toward me and smile. I told her to blink if she wanted me to sing more. She blinked, and I continued. After my songs were over, we prayed.

One day, I sat next to her bed with my hand resting next to hers. I began to sing, one hymn after another. As I began to lift my hand away, she grabbed it and pulled it close to her. So, I sang a few more hymns. Preparing to leave, I kissed her forehead and said,“I love you.” As I turned away, she replied in a garbled voice, “I love you, too.” I began to cry.

Another day, as I was leaving, I said, “Now don’t you have any wild parties while I’m gone.” She giggled! The next time she saw my face, she just laughed out loud, remembering what I had said.

When I mentioned our shared joke to the facility nurse, she was surprised and said, “I’ll have to watch what I say in front of her. I didn’t realize she was so alert.”

Many of my experiences with “non-responsive patients” often are the most exciting.There are exceptions, but oh, yes, I do visit all of my patients on a regular basis.

With experiences and rewards like this, who wouldn’t!