In the days I spent in the hospital, since the surgery until discharge, I met all kinds of people and learned to see life from multiple perspectives. Norma, the Jamaican nurse aid, taught me to face the challenges of immigration and foreignness, always confronting new obstacles with a smile. Isaiah, the hospital chaplain, taught me to throw away the arrogance of agnosticism and hear what religion has to talk about. I learned that we’re not independent but interdependent; someone’s always waiting to push us out of despondency into optimism.
And there were many more: Rosalba, the Latin American nurse aid; Karen and Yedbavni, the Jamaican nurse aids; and all the rest of the nurse aids who behaved toward me with compassion and understanding, and showed me how to treat a sick woman who can’t fend for herself and can’t even express her needs.
The ten days that seemed like a century gave me time to stop, step aside, and think. Yes, I spent ten days feeling lonely and helpless, and fear overwhelmed me. But these days gave me the opportunity to meet and chat with new people, and to reflect upon the questions life poses us. While I won’t find the answers, I will be different from the person who was admitted to the hospital a year ago.
And there were many more: Rosalba, the Latin American nurse aid; Karen and Yedbavni, the Jamaican nurse aids; and all the rest of the nurse aids who behaved toward me with compassion and understanding, and showed me how to treat a sick woman who can’t fend for herself and can’t even express her needs.
The ten days that seemed like a century gave me time to stop, step aside, and think. Yes, I spent ten days feeling lonely and helpless, and fear overwhelmed me. But these days gave me the opportunity to meet and chat with new people, and to reflect upon the questions life poses us. While I won’t find the answers, I will be different from the person who was admitted to the hospital a year ago.
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