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I must admit that 2014 was not a good year for me in many ways. I started the year waking up in a hotel in Philadelphia with a serious internal hemorrhage that landed me in intensive care. By the time I figured out what was wrong and called 911, I had lost six and a half pints of blood! And to make matters worse, I lost all that blood and no one offered me juice, cookies or a donut! Next time I want to lose blood I will stick to the Red Cross...they have cookies.
I spent much of January and February getting back to work and regaining my strength. I thought my health troubles were over, but my knees had other plans. They have been in pain since I broke them in a cave in 1979. Since then I have had nine arthroscopic procedures to try and get a few more years out of them. This year they just plain gave out and on December 2, 2014 I had both knees completely replaced.
As I thought about this month's posting, I was struck by one thought that would not go away. I opened 2014 surrounded by nurses and I closed out the year the same way. Now, I have known many nurses in my life. I went to school with some, I have trained others. But I am ashamed to say that I think of them too rarely. My two stays in the hospital this year opened my eyes to their truly thankless work and dedication.
Think of the high level of training these men and women have. They were in charge of delivering my medications and then acting as advocates to the doctors when things where not going as planned They were the first ones to evaluate me each morning and the last to check on me at night. But there was so much more beyond the training. They were my nanny, my mother, my care-taker, my valet, my cheerleader, my comforter, my pharmacist, my coach, my medic and my wait staff all in one. And those are only the duties I saw with my own eyes. I did not see the paperwork, the record keeping, the family counseling and all of the other things that they did out of my sight.
The amazing thing was that each and every nurse I had was truly a comfort to me. I am sure that if I walked back in any of those wards, they would not recognize me. But, when I was in their care they all made me feel like family. They did everything I asked, and so much more than I could have hoped for. They were angels in my midst.
Before 2015 gets old I just want to say: Thank You! To all who treated me, and to all who have chosen this difficult path of ultimate service God Bless you all!
I hope that in 2015 you will take the time to think about these angels and thank them for what they do. Our world would be a much sadder and terrible place without them.
