I screamed for 10 minutes. I tried to stop, but I just could not. Slipping over on a puddle of liquid near our kitchen, I somehow managed to twist and hyper-extend my left knee significantly enough to completely tear a tendon and cause tissue damage under my knee cap. Needless to say, the pain was so excruciating - it felt as though my leg had been torn off!
A week later and after several trips to doctor, specialist and MRI imaging, I arrived to the private hospital closest to us to have some significant surgery performed.
I was rightly nervous, especially since the pain had now subsided and I was faced with a minimum six weeks of pain and rehabilitation.
So, the surgery went well and I was impressed with the professionalism of the surgical team, which put my anxiety at ease.
The next day…
Then came the next day… a simple question struck me… how on earth do I go to the toilet? I had not been to hospital since a teenager and was pondering what on earth I could do - I was literally stuck in the bed.
After a short time I could not hold on any longer…
I pressed the Nurse Call button.
I was promptly presented with a smile and a solution to my problem. In fact, because of the drip to rehydrate me, I was having to press this button regularly.
Being a highly independent person, I apologised each time before handing the decanter over. ‘You don’t have to be sorry each time,’ she commented with a chuckle, ‘it’s my job!’
It’s my job
I pondered the response afterwards. ‘It’s my job’. This was not a job which was randomly pulled from a hat - these people chose at one point, a career of servitude to people in need.
It absolutely astounds me how much these precious people put up with - my brief chat with one of the nurses during my stay, surprised me how they are sometimes treated.
It’s not a career for the faint of heart - night shifts, working with disagreeable and sometimes angry people. Doctors blaming them for mishaps and occasionally, being the only person there when someone dies – the list goes on.
All mentally and physically draining work - doing it from the love of their heart.
I decided after pondering this, the nurses which seem grumpy still deserve your best gratitude and a smile. Who knows what stresses they are under? Stresses which would make me grumpy, I am sure!
Parallels to Christ
The heart of Christianity is the fact we should be caring for other people. Having a heart that cares, shows we are seeking to be like Jesus. Jesus’ compassion for others was easy to see in the pages of the Gospels. He went from place to place, town to town and apart from meeting the spiritual needs of others, he was also compassionate towards their physical needs. He healed the sick, comforted the poor and provided for the physical nourishment of thousands - and did it all in complete humility without asking for anything of personal benefit.
After really pondering what nurses do and why they do it, I feel they deserve a lot more respect and credit than they are given.
What honourable people they are, serving who our Lord created in his own image - you and me. It is my opinion these wonderful people would be held in the highest esteem in heaven, and rightly so.
Thank you, Nurses.
Michael Dahlenburg is an electronics technician. He is non-denominational and has previously been involved in church plants and assisting those in ministry. His interests include; enjoying family, home DIY, gardening, most things tech-related and driving his wife crazy with a constant stream of inventions! He lives with his wife Michelle and three children in God’s own land of Southern Adelaide, Australia.Michael Dahlenburg’s previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/michael-dahlenburg.html