I have been spending a lot of time this past week at the hospital as my wife went through serious surgery. There were complications and a second operation. Things seem to be settling down and she is coming home.
What always amazes me is how modern miracles can exist side by side with age old personality types.
What the doctors can do is awesome. Major operations without major openings and scars are normal procedure. Things that were once life ending are now just serious. Pain medications are met by others drugs for every step of a hospital stay. Monitors and sensors keep an eye on everything. Modern science, technology and medical teams work miracles.
In the midst of that you have people. Some nurses light up the room when they come in and they come in often. They seem to sense they are needed and demonstrate a genuine concern and compassion. Aides can make your day doing the little services you can’t do for yourself. There are some really good people working in the hospitals.
Then there are the ones who have the same training, same titles and plenty of experience but it is just a paycheck. They always seem to be on lunch break or with another patient. They do the least that they can and muddle along. They make being helpless a dreadful experience.
We saw both kinds. We have survived another crisis. Our insurance held up and our cars have kept running. I am looking forward to not getting up at 3:30 to drive across town to meet with the doctors when they make their rounds. I am also glad it was not me on the table and in the bed.
homo unius libri
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