I didn’t have many big hospital visits this week. I went down to the Cancer Center first, but there were no patients. While I was there, I visited the receptionist as well as the nurse, who I hadn’t seen in a while.
Pediatrics is almost as quiet. There is only one little girl to see, and her parents are welcome. But he was afraid of me! He alternates between wanting to touch me and bending over. So I didn’t visit. Usually the children are happy to see me, but often they are scared, like this girl.
Then I went up to Labor and Delivery. The nurses were so happy to see me there! And there was a patient visited, a young Spanish-speaking woman going through her first pregnancy. Even though she was lying down, she still had her make-up on, even her eyelashes. Sometimes when someone goes through a big event in the hospital, they need something like makeup to help them feel something close to normal. While we were there, an old couple (probably his parents) showed up. The lady who was probably the mother told us how scared the girl was. I was glad to spend some time with him.
Back then, we still had a few hours, but as I was walking down the hospital hallway, two nurses saw me and wanted to be with me. And of course I drew a little crowd. On days like this, when it’s a bit slow, I make sure to spend extra time with staff. They need stress relief.
Even though my man and I were disappointed that we didn’t see too many patients, it was still important to show up to the staff. And also the guests. Hospital life is hard, and while most patients come and go, the people who show up every day to work, or visit a sick loved one go through a lot. And they need me too.