A Story of Hope

I have been somewhat short of inspiration lately as writing doesn’t always come easy for me. But like most art, experiences inspire a story, a song, a painting, some sort of expression that the person feels or wishes to convey.

This is a story of hope that I believe many of us, if not all of us, could use right now. This year has been a challenge for us in several ways, and will be remembered as one of the worst we’ve had in our lifetime facing a worldwide pandemic, a worldwide protest against racial injustice and an out and out crisis in the American democracy with the recent presidential election.

I will admit that I have never been one to see the glass half full. It has been a struggle for me to train myself to see the positive side of things in lieu of the negative, but I have gotten some better at it over the years (a slow process).

For me personally, I have had some health issues that required some non-elective surgery. Any hospital is not the ideal place to be right now with a pandemic surging in our midst. The surgery was one that was not easy and full of high risk complications. That is why I was referred to one of the best surgeons in one of the top hospitals we have in Texas. I was fortunate to be referred there, and in hind sight, realize ten fold how blessed I am.

I had the surgery last Monday morning (a week ago today) and was the first patient on the table for this surgeon. He came in bright eyed and bushy tailed asking me if I was ready. In turn, I asked him how he slept the night before which made him chuckle and retorted that he had slept well and was up to the task. That is about the last thing I remember except being wheeled into OR.

When I woke up, I was told I was in ICU which scared the bedoodles out of me. They said you’re here because we want to keep a close eye on you. Okay. Why? It’s all good, just a precaution. I was awake, alive and not in much pain so I was thankful for that, at least.

My ICU nurse came in and introduced herself in an upbeat and friendly manner stating we would be “spending the day” together. She was about the same age as my granddaughter, and I felt an instant connection to her for some reason. She was cute, funny, competent and endearing as she cared for my every need. She told me I was the most well patient she had in ICU, which I found out later was because most patients there have just had a neuro surgery of some sort, which thankfully, mine was not. We were in a different building than the main hospital so co-vid patients were in another building. Shannon came by at shift change that evening and said she was the nurse on call, so she might see me tomorrow and congratulated me on how well I was doing.

Night nurses came on duty, and they were also competent and caring. It was a long night with little sleep due to all the attention I was getting from all the staff. The next morning I was informed that Shannon was coming in but running late. When she arrived, she seemed a little disheveled but I soon found out that they didn’t call her in until 7 a.m. so she was forced to get dressed and come to work immediately without coffee, breakfast or time to get her day in order. But she was still determined to do her job and take care of her patients first. I spent all day in ICU despite being told I would get a regular room. It seems there is a demand for hospital rooms right now. Imagine that!

About 9 p.m., I was told I had a room and would be moving shortly. The care techs came in and packed up my things and in short order, I was in a corner suite on the 5th floor with a view of downtown Dallas. I managed to get some sleep that night despite the steroids they had me on, the vampire that would sneak in my room and steal my blood and the nurses checking vital signs and doing their job.

The doctors came in early (5:30ish) the next morning and did their evaluations. They said I would probably get to go home, and that I was doing well. Then about 7 a.m., my new day nurse came in and introduced herself as Shiney. She was quiet but had a strong presence in the room. She was caring, kind and knowledgeable. She made me want to know her in a more personal way so I started with, “Where are you from”? She answered, “India”. I said, “Oh”. I wasn’t surprised, just acknowledging her answer. She went on to say, I left India in 1996, and lived in London until two years ago. I was in London when the pandemic first hit and lost ten co-workers while I was there. Of course, more have died since. As she continued her story, I found out she was on her third 12 hour shift in a row, but she was still working hard to give 100% of herself to me and her other patients. In between her story, she would get calls from other personnel and she would take care of those as she attended to me. Her husband also works in the medical field at a different hospital. On her day off, she takes care of her 90 year old mother-in-law. Something tells me she doesn’t get much time for herself and she doesn’t dwell on that as she has too many responsibilities.

The lady that wheeled me out to the car when I was released was an American woman raising two teenage boys on her own. She said she didn’t mind being on the “battlefield”. That is pretty much what it is right now, but they continue on without reserve to do their job the best they can.

It is impossible for me to tell this story without tears…I’m so overwhelmed by what I saw in this hospital. This hospital has a huge staff of workers from every nationality and culture whose only goal is to help their patients. I would watch them come and go and see that it was just what they do day in and day out. They work together for the good of the people they serve. Today that person was me. I am so grateful, so blessed, so hopeful. This is what changes our world for the good. This is what makes hope possible. This is what makes cynical people like me re-think their mindset. So going forward, every time I get in a negative mindset, I will think about Shiney, Shannon and the rest of the staff at UT Southwest. They are a reason we can continue to hope that this world and our nation will again be whole. They can’t save everyone, but they spend their lives trying to make a difference and it’s working. God bless them every one for they truly blessed me.

If you get an opportunity to say thank you to a nurse, doctor, tech, hospital worker, please take it. They not only deserve it, they appreciate it. It’s the least we can do and maybe it will give them a little hope in return.