Saturday, December 8, 2007

Kindness of a Stranger...


Mumsie here. I just had to steal their blog for a moment. I am a nurse in a very busy recovery room at our local hospital. The room is designed so that the stretchers are in very close proximity of each other....allowing the staff to keep a close eye on everyone. (Tough on patient privacy and dignity, but we try very hard to preserve it!)

A man was wheeled in from the operating room in pain and was moaning and loudly crying out. The patient next to him asked to be moved as it was very disturbing. We started to make provisions for that to be done.

I walked in their direction and just stopped stunned. Instead, this kind lady just awakening and in pain herself, stretched her arm across the narrow space and reached over to him with her hand. He saw her and extended his hand to clasp hers. The two of them...complete strangers....lay like this for sometime. She told him she was sending positive thoughts to him for pain relief and healing.

I have worked many years as a nurse and have never seen compassion expressed like this. I hear and read awful things about the cruelty of mankind to one another and to our beloved animals. But seeing the touch of one stranger to another make me think there is so much HOPE for us hoomans!

This was my gift for this holiday season and I pass it gratefully onto you. You are the best!

Mumsie

21 comments:

Katie said...

Our grammie was in a nursing home for a few months, and we used to go visit her quite a bit. We got quite a reputation about going up to people and letting them pet us and being on our very best behavior, and how kind we were. I am glad that this goes all the way to human to human. It makes me do a doggie smile. Now, maybe that will get our mom off her duff and takes us back to the nursing home to see our pals there, even though grammie doesn't live there anymore!

The Black and Tans. said...

Hello Mumsie!
That was truly a beautiful act of human kindness.
Thank you for sharing.
Molly and Taffy

Maya and Kena said...

Hiya Scruffy and Lacie!
You've been tagged by us to list 7 annoyances and tag 7 other doggies!!
Check out our blog fur instructions!
Wags and licks,
Maya and Kena

Patience-please said...

Oh, Scruffy and Lacy aren't you the luckiest to have such a Magnificent Mumsie!
Our Servant is also a nurse who worked in a Recovery Room for several years, way back in the
90's, and she was just amazed and delighted by your Mumsie's story.

wags from the whippet waggle

Agatha and Archie said...

Ah Mumsie,the amazing things that we see at work that people do.Of course I cried at your story and will be telling eveyone in the unit on Monday.Not to get soppy but ours is a truly amazing profession. Love PL2

Asta said...

Mumsie
That was a bootiful stowy..we sometimes fowget how much love and compassion thewe is in this wowld, sometimes all we see awe the bad things..thank you fow weminding all of us and giving us this gift.
smoochie kisses
Asta and Mommi

Molly the Airedale said...

What a wonderful story, Mumsie! Thank you so much for sharing it!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Colleen said...

What a beautiful story! Mama is going to remember that one! (I will too!)

Gus said...

thank you for sharing this story

muzzer

Lorenza said...

Hi, Mumsie!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story! Sure you felt great to be a witness there!
Have a good night
Lorenza

Koobuss said...

Oh Mumsie,

What a beautiful and heart warming story that is. How lucky you are to have witnessed it! Things like this remind us that there is still a lot of good in people. Sometimes it just takes a crisis for it to come out.

Love,
Koobie's Mom

and Koobuss Kisses from Koobie

Stanley said...

Sweet Mumsie!

Thank you for sharing that moment of grace you witnessed. It gives me & my girl hope.

Goober love & smooches just for you,
Stanley

Noah the Airedale said...

Hi Mumsie,
We wish there were more people like that in this world. Thanks for sharing such a moving story.

Hugs and tail wags,
Noah's pinky

Daniella said...

what a touching story, thanks for commandeering the blog Mumsie to share that precious tale.

Ax and his Mumsie

Ruby Bleu said...

wow. that was bootiful.

Lots of Licks, ruby

Ferndoggle said...

Stories like that restore my faith in humanity. They are few & far between these days...thanks for sharing!

Jen

Lenny said...

Heya Scruffman - that Sarge sounds like my kind of dog. And you are so right about the counter surfing - no need to hop if our "arms" are that long! We are blessed. My mom says that if there was a WFT NBA, I could play in it. Maybe we should start a league.

Lenny said...

That story is so nice. I'm sending it to my auntie, who's a nurse.

Usually my people make me cheer for the Colts, but this year we are cheering for the Steelers because we like the QB. He played for Terry Hoeppner at Miami, and then Coach Hep came to Indiana, where my mom works. IU LOVES Coach Hep, and he did an amazing job with the football team. Sadly, he died last year from a brain tumor, but Ben R. honors him, so we love Ben! Go Steelers!

Your friend, Lenny

William Tell said...

What a beautiful story! Thanks for brightening our day with that special tale. There really are some great people in this world.

William Tell

Charlie said...

That is the best holiday story ever! More so because it's true and personally experienced and shared.

Jackson's J1 and J2 said...

Hey Mumsie, what a lovely story, thank you so much for sharing. It made our day! J x