The truth is I have rarely come across a nurse in my travels that hasn't touched me with their deep empathy and care for the job.....I can only think of a couple of times where that didn't feel true.....and we all have bad days right? But I feel the call to be a nurse is a special one.....it requires a level of care and compassion, and staying power, that not a lot of people have....and some of the finest nurses I ever met worked at the NICU where Gabe was born....one was better than the next, and they were all just fabulous......and as shifts would change, I would meet a new face, and build a new relationship while I lived there for 5 weeks....I have a need in me always to get to the story of somebody, or start up a conversation if there is any time for that, and the NICU was a place that I had the time to do that.....so I got to know so many of them, due to the sheer amount of time I spent there.....which was day and night.....and what struck me so deeply about them was their patience and willingness to share information on repeat......without skipping a beat.....I would be asking them questions about Gabe.....trying desperately to understand the medical lingo that had taken over my life.....and they would explain it to me in such a patient and kind way.....and then they would move to the next room to check on the baby....and I would hear them having the SAME conversation, with the SAME level of care....and that happened 100s of times in the weeks I was there......like a perpetual loop......playing over and over as new babies came and went.....and all of them carried such wisdom in them from doing it so long.....and they were all so smart......nurses do not get the credit they deserve for how fiercely smart they are, and how much they do to support the doctors they work around......such a vast wealth of knowledge.....coupled with that deeply caring piece......when I had Gabe I had an emergency c-section.....and they had used staples to put me back together.....and it was a big rush, so it was not done well internally at all.....I had many issues after that, that luckily got resolved after my calm c-section with my girl, they fixed me all up in there:) But with Gabe I had been a couple of weeks past my surgery....and I was in the NICU one night and my staples hurt....and it was late at night, and the nurse came in to check on Gabe.....I was sitting in the rocking chair watching him sleep.....and I told her about my discomfort.....and asked her if I could show her....and she said absolutely....and when she saw it she said "Oh honey that is getting infected"......you need to make an appointment with the doctor's office....and I was so grateful to her and her willingness to help me, I was no longer a patient of the hospital....fully in no man's land.....a resident of the hospital.....and it was appreciated....I then found out I was allergic to the staples....and was glad to get them out.....and during that time I forged beautiful relationships with all of the women that held me up when I needed it.....shift after shift.....with such compassion and care.....giving me their all....and helping me endure those difficult weeks....they were some of the hardest of my life.....no question....and the NICU nurses were like earth angels.....and they will live in my heart always, and I will forever be grateful for each and every one of them.....:) Here's to ALL of the nurses out there, I SEE ALL you do, and appreciate each and every one of you:)
jperuso
コメント