A Good Man

Last night I watched a great movie, Hotel Rwanda.

Here's the review from Amazon:

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Solidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan "guests" from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in Devil in a Blue Dress, Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: "an expert in situational ethics" (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally had to do, at great risk and potential sacrifice, with an understanding that wartime negotiations are largely a game of subterfuge, cooperation, and clever bribery. Aided by a United Nations official (Nick Nolte), he worked a saintly miracle, and director Terry George (Some Mother's Son) brings formidable social conscience to bear on a true story you won't soon forget. --Jeff Shannon

I bring it up because the lesson of the movie for me is that you can do many things in your life, but what really matters is being a good man -- doing the right thing. It's not an easy thing to do. But worth being reminded of. I recommend the movie to everyone.

***

Typical day. Four calls.

A chest pain -- a man who had an MI seven weeks ago and refused to have a quadruple by-pass. He's been having chest pain for two days, so his wife finally called.
I don't think he was having another MI, just residual angina from his clogged arteries.

An asthma -- woman left her inhaler at home, and needed a treatment. The nurse was having her breathe into a paper bag. Double take. Say what?

An unresponsive -- a woman from a nursing home with dementia and every other diagnosis was found unresponsive for a few minutes, and was back to normal by our arrival. One nurse thought she was playing possum, the other thought she might have had a seizure. This happens to her frequently. Since she is a full code, both nurses agreed she needed to be checked out.

A hypovolemia -- man just returned from foreign travel, vomiting and diarrhea for two days, went to his doctor's office. Had a BP of 60 and almost passed out. After a liter of saline, he was feeling better and up to 110/60.