I Know A Nurse When I See One

I’m not a nurse but I was a caregiver before. To have the strength to go to a job and not know if the person that you are giving care to will be here another day.

Yet, you go with a smile on your face and hope that you can give them another day from your energy and kindness. Inside of you, there is a prayer that something you do can cause them to get better. You know God sent you to

take care of his sickly angels. You, Yes You! He trusted you with someone else faith. You are very trustworthy and dependable to do a job he picked only you to do. Now naturally you assume it is for a paycheck. No, it is not. You see you can get a paycheck doing anything. But you have to have the heart to be a nurse. You have to care for people to be a nurse. You have to have a determined soul to help someone survive to be a nurse. You are a special breed. Please don’t let anyone belittle you. I was a caregiver for two elderly women. I watch one of them passing slowly from cancer at the age of 92. She held my arm and smiled and I put water across her lips to keep them moist. She loved my arms because they were big. I guess she felt secure with them. On the night she passed, I was told to just keep checking on her because she was moving on that night. I went into the living room of her home and the other sister came out and urinated in the floor heater. The whole house smelled like piss the whole night. But she loved the warmth going up to her dress. I didn’t say a word. That makes me a nurse. I know she shouldn't have been on the heater, but she enjoys the warmth it gave her and it was the only time she came out of the room besides going to the restroom. Later that night I went back into the room and her sister was taking her last breath. I called her attorney, which is the person that hired me, and told him she was gone. He told me to change her clothing and clean her up before the funeral home comes to get her. To me,

that is so impersonal but routine. She had passed her bowels. The day nurse came and we cleaned her and changed her clothes before she started to get

cold. My heart hurt so much because she was my buddy. But I knew that she was finally out of pain. I left and went home, and the morning nurse did the rest.

The next day the sister came out and urinated on the floor furnace again. This

time she went over and shut her sister’s door, and went into her room. It was so sad. The family came and my job was done. I never did that kind of job again until I had to take care of my grandmother. I held strong for as long as I could.

I had to because if she saw my fear of her passing, she would’ve passed sooner. I had to be her rock. But my internals was like mush. My heart goes out to all nurses that worked for the pandemic. There is no strength like the strength that you carry to your job every day. You are a potent survivor. You are our inspiration and motivation to know that normal life will come again.

Thank you.