Day 227: Real heroes...

When it comes to heroes we tend to focus our accolades on our military servicemen and women or the local police or firemen.  But after spending a good chunk of last week and this weekend in the hospital, I'm here to tell you nurses need to be added to that honor roll.  They truly are unsung heroes.

For the days I was at the Denver Children's Hospital, not only was it hard for me to witness my poor niece having to endure tubes and needles being stuck in her, I saw helpless little toddlers and infants that were plugged into one machine or another and it was all I could do to keep my composure.  By the time they said it was ok for Hannah to go home I was emotionally drained.  You have to know that just witnessing all that suffering by such beautiful little beings is so heart wrenching.  How could someone deal with that day in and day out for months or years at a time?  Nurses do that with a smile on their face and a song in their heart.  I hate to admit but if it were me I'd be taking vodka intravenously just to cope. If you want to know real strength and courage, look at a nurse.

Now on a lighter note, when the hell did nurses get to be so cute?  Call me naughty but the thought crossed my mind a couple times where I wished I was a kid admitted into this den of beauties.  Heck, even my sister noticed that one of the nurses looked like a young Signourney Weaver while another looked like Anne Hathaway.  But my favorite was Emily.  She was attending during my niece's procedures and was an absolute angel to Hannah while being incredibly easy on the eye.  Yeah, my sister even said I was a bit shameless in my flirtations.  Hey, I'm an old guy, I'm harmless and isn't it my right of passage to seniorhood to be a dirty old man?  But not once, though, did I say, "How YOU doin'?"  I do have my boundaries.

But seriously, I'm so thankful for this army of caregivers and I personally feel they get forgotten in the course of bringing us back to health.  The doctors are like the quarterbacks.  They score the touchdowns, get all the cheers and write ups.  But none of that would happen without the linemen, the ones that take a beating on every play to make it possible for the quarterback (doctor) to shine.  Nurses give more than just medicine.  They give hope, comfort, compassion and a sense of calm, very much what our moms gave us when we were scared or had an "ouchy".

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.  You truly are one of God's little angels. 

Post Script:  In my defense of leering at the nurses, my wife has also been at the hospital lately caring for her father.  She was very quick and quite brazen to point out the fact that her dad's doctor looked exactly like Jon Hamm, who plays Don Draper on "Mad Men".  She makes no secret over the fact she's got a SERIOUS crush on him.  I will say it's a bit awkward when in the throws of passion I'm referred to as "Mr. Draper!"  Hey, I'll take it any way it comes.