Mr. R.* has been followed by Street nurses for over 1 year. His attending physician tells us he’s worrying about him, because already 4 years ago he lost his home and is going back and forth between the street and his mother.
Mr. R. has been followed by Street nurses for over 1 year. His attending physician tells us he’s worrying about him, because already 4 years ago he lost his home and is going back and forth between the street and his mother.
At first, it was very difficult to create a connection with him. Mr. R. was often angry, only talking about the administrator of his property and his money. It was hard for us to have pleasant meetings with him.
But in reality, Mr. R. is a very endearing patient. He often suffers from domestic violence in part because of his mental disorder that forces him to repeat the same thing over and over again.
One day when I meet him with a student nurse, Mr. R. is in particularly good form. He agrees to do things together: he follows us to CPAS for an appointment as well as for a meeting with his property administrator.
During the appointment at CPAS, I am required to show my identity card. Mr. R. immediately notices that it is pink while his is green. He interrogates me and wants to know " why? ". I explain that I am French, which is why I have a pink residence permit.
Mr. M. is very surprised that I am French, and he asks me many questions: where I lived, where I was born, how long I have been in Brussels... When I explain to him that I am from Paris, Mr. R teases and mocks me a little. We have a good laugh that day.
The following weeks I see Mr. M. several times, and each time he remembers my name: Cloé la parisienne. As meetings go on, he finds it more and more difficult to talk to other colleagues and only wants to talk to me. So, we start thinking it would be smarter if I went to see him less often.
Today, it seems to me that we have managed to find a balance, including our privileged relationship, but which remains a lever and not an obstacle.
I really think this story made me realize that we expect our patients to tell us a lot about their history while they don't know anything about us. Sometimes it is enough to talk a little bit about yourself to make someone feel comfortable to also talk about themselves. That's what happened with Mr. R.
Cloé, nurse on the street
Make a difference
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(*) We do our utmost to respect the privacy of our patients and our professional secrecy. However, we want to testify to how they must survive and how we are working together to reintegrate them. As a result, the names of places and people are deliberately omitted or changed and real-life situations are placed in a different context. There is no direct link between the photos and the stories above...