It’s funny what you remember during difficult times of your life. Three years ago, it wasn’t the multiple surgeries or the lengthy recovery periods during my cancer diagnosis that stay with me. What I remember with clarity are the nurses who gave selflessly to make my tests and hospital stays more comfortable. There has never been a more caring profession than nursing. I remember one “angel” in particular.
Always a stickler for on-time exams, I felt pretty confident that my second round of screenings was “no big deal.” As I waited in the waiting room, I convinced myself that I could not have cancer. Then I was called into a consultation room where the radiologist and nurse awaited me. They explained in detail the two biopsies had been ordered and scheduled for the next day. It was then that I knew this was “a big deal.”
The nurse from the consultation sat with me for over an hour as I slowly processed through a valley of emotions. She called me that evening asking if I had any additional questions. I arrived for the biopsies where doctors and nurses surrounded me. “My” nurse was by my side for four hours through both biopsies, explaining every detail, attentive to my every need. Most endearing to me was that she ordered me to squeeze her hand as hard as I could when the pain increased, then wiped away my tears. She prayed for me and with me through it all.
True to the calling, all the nurses assigned to my care during the following three surgeries were the ultimate caretakers. This was their ministry, not a 9-5 job. What a difference they made in my recovery and my life … so loving … so caring.
At the heart of Christianity is the fact that we should all be caring people. Having a heart that cares shows that we are seeking to be like Jesus Christ. He went from place to place, from town to town, and was not only meeting spiritual needs of people, but was compassionate for the physical needs of people as well. He healed the sick, gave comfort to the poor and provided physical needs of thousands through His miracles.
To all the Florence Nightingale’s out there – THANK YOU! With each loving gesture, you are spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.
John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
