The Love of Heroes

These times are obviously difficult.  I feel compelled to quickly say something about the staff in our hospitals today.

They are absolutely wonderful!

Imagine for a moment (unfortunately many don’t have to) that a loved one gets sick.  It could be because of Covid-19, or it could be something completely unrelated.  Either way, you are forced to seek treatment for your loved one.  At this point, people’s fears about going to the hospital become a reality.  People avoid it like the plague and pray that they never have to go into the belly of the beast.  Why?  Because they don’t want to potentially get infected with Covid.  Even if they’re going because they think they have Covid, there is a sense of hope that they are wrong and it’s just something else.

You and your loved one arrive at the door of the Emergency Room.  They take him/her in and leave you out.  They turn you away because of concerns of Covid.  Yes, they do this to minimize possibility of spreading the virus.  So it logically makes sense.  But does it make sense to your spirit and your soul?  NO!!!  It does not.  It really hurts and feels like you have been torn away from the person you care deeply about.

What’s worse?  They go into a communications blackout!

Your loved one might have their cell phone.  But the moment they go through those ER doors, they meet every staff member from receptionists to Doctors in a short time frame.  They are subject to a battery of examinations and tests.  Decisions are being made.  Treatment is being initiated.  In short, they are busy.

All the while, their first thoughts might be of their families.  However in addition to time constraints, their bodies may betray them.  In the case of Covid, they maybe too weak to draw breath and require a tube placed in order to begin ventilation.  It is a scary time that’s even scarier if you don’t know what’s going on with the ones we love.

Everyone involved must completely place their trust in the Doctors, nurses, and every single healthcare provider to do their best to help our loved ones.

Therefore I can see and understand that these heroes may not have time to inform families with every turn they make.  Their heroism does not come from the fact that they’re doing their job at break-neck speed.  Their heroism comes from maintaining the dignity of humanity in these trying times.

I’m talking about the Doctor who takes the time to speak with every patient thoughtfully and with human dignity.

I speak of the nurse who takes the time to call a patient’s family and keep them informed because they know the paramount importance of maintaining a connection with their loved one when family members cannot be at the patient’s side.

I’m talking about the cooks in the hospital kitchen who know that they are preparing meals with love because they are serving people that are loved.

I’m talking about the janitors who make sure that everything is spotless because they know that they are armed with the ability to make sure that no virus or other infection gets transferred to another person.

The receptionists perform their jobs bravely because they are the first people to come face-to-face with every single case and yet they do it with love.

I’m also talking about the hospital administrators who have made changes by leaps and bounds in anticipation of all the human beings that will be on their doorstep.  There are many more people involved to serve the community with the best compassion possible.

Everybody works with a level of empathy and compassion for their fellow man.  Why?  Because LOVE permeates us all!  It is more infectious than any virus can dream of being!  We notice love’s absence and we notice its presence.

It seems the new catch-phrase is, “We live in unprecedented times!”  Well that’s true!  But not for the reason you might think.

Yes, we’ve had to shut down the country.  But that’s not my focus.

I choose to focus on how this experience has shaped, grown, and expanded our ability to love one another.  Especially in ways that we have not yet realized.

There is love between the Doctor/nurse/advanced providers and their patient.  Without love, these healthcare providers would not care to treat the patient.  Similarly, the patient would not allow their healthcare workers to provide treatment.

There is also love between the worried families at home and the providers that are doing what they can for their loved ones in the hospital.  Don’t believe me?

Then why would a Doctor try to pull strings in an effort to allow at least one family member to be at a patient’s side who may be dying?  Why would a nurse take the time to set up a video call between a patient and his/her family at home just so that they can SEE each other’s faces.  These small gestures make a HUGE impact.  And they are significant wins for love.

I know it doesn’t feel like that sometimes.  We are all afraid.  And fear has a way of expressing itself through irritation, anger, sadness, and potentially every negative emotion a human being is capable of.

As a result we lash out.  Why?  We don’t like being out of control.  We used to remedy that by being informed.  Asking questions of the healthcare worker.  Being by the bedside and tending to our loved ones personally.  And now we can’t even do something as simple as help them to the bathroom or ask the nurse for water because our family member is thirsty.  We are COMPLETELY reliant on someone else.  And in this culture of individuality, it is a direct hit on our identity as individuals.

But behind that fear is love.  We are forced to expand our love in these trying times.  If we could be with our loved ones, we might not give much thought to the Practitioner other than what questions we’re going to ask next.  Now we must realize that the Practitioner is our lifeline.  The nexus through which we can transfer love.  And in doing this, we weave a stronger connection with one another even if it happens to be unintentional.

We truley are living in unprecedented times.  We are often so caught up in our devices that our love has not had much exercise of late.  But now we can truley deepen our love through our connection with one another.  For the first time, we are actually using our devices to their fullest capacity by using them to transfer LOVE rather than anonymity.

If we learn these lessons now, we will cherish the love we share with others for a lifetime.