15 years of Service

I love this story about Margaret Mead. 

Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture.  The Student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.  But no.  Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed.  Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die.  You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food.  You are meat for prowling beasts.  No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.  A broke femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery.  Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said, "We are at our best when we serve others.  Be civilized.  

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15 years of service as an RN and what an incredible ride the last 5 years has been! I will never forget the patient with COVID on maximum BIPAP on the verge of death because there was no ventilator available for her and deciding to prone her heavy body (despite my colleagues' insistence that it was futile) just long enough for her husband to be by her bedside for their last goodbye. I will never forget the suicidal patient who, while strapped down by 6 security guards onto the bed, cried out that this world was not worth living because there was no love for him in it and lovingly telling him, while holding his hand tightly, that I loved him and that he deserves a second chance in life. I will never forget how he whispered the most sincere thank you to me as the tears flowed down his face. I will never forget the grief-stricken roomful of family mourning the death of their loved one in the middle of the night who could not leave the hospital without a proper prayer by a clergy and with no chaplain available, leading a prayer of safe and peaceful transition for the dead amidst hushed sob as we held hands and encircled the deathbed. It has truly been a privilege and a heavy responsibility, and I pray God sees my sincere heart in doing good with the gifts and talents He has given.