They had my back

When my sister-in-law was visiting last month, she asked me about my work, “Don’t you have to deal with some difficult people?”

“Of course. They are all difficult. That’s what makes it fun!” I answered.

And sometimes that is true, but not always. Sometimes the difficult people are really pains in the neck.

We have had one of them in our care, an angry, scared, tormented young man with extremely poor coping skills. Last week he had an episode of aggressively acting out, and thanks to a fine group of security guards, we had plenty of people to help with the situation. Nobody wants to get hurt. Not me. Not the guards. Thankfully they anticipated the need for handcuffs and called the police who are stationed in the ER. When the big, muscular city policeman arrived on the unit and headed toward him, the patient's eyes looked like saucers, and speechless, his bullying ceased. The cop quickly placed the cuffs on him and got him on the floor. I injected his hip with some great medications to calm him while the team of uniformed men held him still. In a few minutes, the handcuffed patient was free to stand, and as he did, he directed some “ugly” words at me. The cops and the guards, who at that time were standing around but behind me, didn’t like it, and they started closing back in and reprimanding him for what he was saying to me. What a comforting feeling. I have heard the expression, “I’ve got your back,” but I didn’t know what it meant before. But those guys had my back, and I think I represented their mothers and sisters and the women they knew and loved, and they wanted to protect me. It was great.

It ended well for the difficult patient and for us. He regained control. Nobody got hurt.
And now if I hear or say "I've got your back" I will have first hand experience what it means.