A Belated Thanks
A recent article in the NY Times "Well" column feels right given the role that nurses have played in many of my children's recent doctor visits. The article, written by a nurse named Theresa Brown, is a review of this book: Saving Lives: Why the Media's Portrayal of Nurses Puts Us All at Risk.
There was a period, not so long ago, when I was struggling to procure a helpful diagnoses and treatment for Eden's food allergies, eczema and asthma. I felt confused and desperately anxious. And I have vivid memories of particular nurses becoming unsung heroes. Those memories include:
The nurse who offered to tape a urine bag collection on Eden in the office (although she was on her lunch break) rather than send me home with the relatively horrifying task.
The nurse with the gentlest of touches who administered Eden's first skin prick test and then confessed that the same test dramatically improved her teenage life.
The nurse who bent the rules and allowed my three year-old daughter to visit her little brother in NICU when she didn't truly believe that he had been born.
Although the book and the review focus on the life-saving aspects of a nurses profession, the seemingly smaller moments matter too. I sent a "thank you" note to one of those nurses. But time got away from me and I didn't let the other nurses know the difference they made. I should have.