the kindness of nurses

In celebration of nurses' week, which I think is coming up, I thought that I would recount kind acts which nurses bestowed upon me many years ago. Approximately ten years ago, I was a young twenty-something just beginning to make my way in the world; like a young mother penguin making the great trek across the arctic, not knowing what to expect but hoping for the best. However, like the penguin my wellbeing was threatened, not by harsh environmental conditions, but by an internal enemy. Yes, my own immune system was attacking me. I did not know how to handle this and thus yielded to many experts to help me find my way in dealing with what would be a new normal. Just like researchers and arctic experts, who come to the aid of injured or ailing penguins, I turned to the expertise of nurses. The hospital environment is much like the harsh arctic in that there are innate, threatening conditions which place its creatures at risk. However, pathogenic bacteria like super-bugs and institutional barriers to care place clients at risk, more than extreme temperatures or lack of nutritional resources. Like an ailing penguin, at the mercy of its environment, I relied on nurses to provide me with resources, education and care, in order to navigate within my new environment. It was the kindness of one nurse that touched me most profoundly. Her name was Debbie and she made sure that my time in this less then friendly setting did not rob me of my spirit or of my dignity. Without many nurses, including the one that I have mentioned, I may have succumb to these conditions which challenged me both externally and internally. Without the kindness of nurses I may have been like many penguins making my trek alone in an unforgiving climate.