Humanity and Rainy Nights

Rain patted rhythmically against his window as I walked into his dimly lit room. I could hear him breathing softly and looked to see both him and his wife sleeping soundly, him in his hospital bed, wrapped up in sheets, blankets and pillows, while his young wife slept quietly in a recliner she had drug right next to his bed. Quietly, I wrote my name on the board and left the room, admiring the scene for a moment before I left.


Every now and then human beings suprise me, just when life gets dim, or when things seem to be so out of control things happen that take your breath away and leave you suprised. Humanitiy is a strange thing, and a stranger concept and the thought of all the different cultures, meanings, religions, and people just astound me. Maybe thats why I went into medicine, to embed myself into learning all I can about humanity.


With the lack of excitement the unit holds I am able to sit back and think about things, and play out scenarios in my mind, like how the patient came to be in our care, and how long he had waitied for this last procedure. As I daydreamed, I grabbed his chart and began to learn about my patient. Each sentence got harder and harder to read as I realized that what got him in here was beyond what I could have daydreamed. Mad at myself, I slammed the chart shut, put it away and walked down to the galley. Once protected from the rest of the unit I hung my head and sniffed, unsure about why I was so emotional about a simple diagnosis, but sure that I was wanting more than anything to take away all this poor mans pain.

Rain patted against the window as I sat in an empty room, simply staring out into the dark skies, listening as the rain refused to stop. I wrapped myself tighter in the blanket and looked around the room, looking for anything to inspire me. Sharps container, gloves, trays, suction canisters, soft suction catherters, postivie pressure ventilation masks, oxygen, not even the code blue light could entice me into feeling like the incredibly strong healthcare professional I am.

Saving lives is second nature, caring for human beings is all that I ever wanted to do with my life. Patients consider us 'gods mechanics'. People depend on us, and throughout all that we are trained to do, all that we do in the attempts to save lifes is done for them.
For people. For humanity.

The rain is still patting against those same windows, and the night is still young and dark, but I hold my head high and approach my patients with confidence, because they are depending on me for all their needs. And I am more than willing to help with all of it.