The Unexpected Gift at Christmas
It’s 2 am and I’m stirring in bed. No position feels right and my stomach is in agony. I definitely did not imagine this happening right now, especially on Christmas Day. I keep telling myself, “Go back to sleep. It’ll pass.” However, I’ve been doing that since early in the night and it wasn’t passing, but worsening. I ultimately decide it’s time to go to… the ER.
Every minute I drive, it feels like the pain just grows and grows. I can’t help but think, am I exaggerating this pain? But as the minutes pass, I quickly realize…I’m not. I usually never go to the doctor unless I absolutely have to. What was worse about this moment was that I felt so terrible having to go on Christmas Day.
I arrive at the ER, with empty chairs and silent hallways. I am greeted with kindness by the staff. They take my important information, place a band on my wrist and walk me back straight back to a room since of course, no one is there in the waiting room as I anticipated. I'm in agony from pain but emotionally feel sorrow for having to put the healthcare workers to work on a holiday. I couldn’t help but think to myself the irony of now being a patient in the ER I just rotated through just a few short months ago. Now, I’m on the other side, a scared patient with only one goal in mind - to feel just a little bit better. My nurse greeted me with such kindness, offering warm blankets and with such warmth in her voice. My doctor, blessed to say it wasn’t a doctor I worked with in the past to avoid any oddness, was kind, informative and so helpful. As I lay on that stretcher, my pain was slowly but steadily improving. I lay there realizing this is what great patient care looks like. It’s in the small things: from offering that warm blanket to their warmth, kindness, and positive attitude… being on the other side of the table at that moment really opened my eyes to the bigger picture. I’m sure they didn’t want to work on their holiday but I never had the sense that they even felt that way. Maybe they didn’t. All I know is that they made it clear that making me feel better was their first priority. I appreciated that so much. A few short hours later, I felt so much better and was discharged to go home, just in time for sunrise so that my family didn’t worry too much about me before they woke up since I left without waking them (don't worry, I sot them a text). I got back in bed, fell asleep and slept the best I had in a few days.
I never thought I would find my way to the ER on Christmas Day but I tell you, I honestly believe I received the greatest, most unexpected gift I could have ever received. I saw the power of great patient care. I am so thankful for the healthcare workers who made my night and day so much more enjoyable so that I can actually enjoy my Christmas with my family. There are so many hardworking healthcare workers working on the holidays and I just want to say thank you for your care and hardwork. Your sacrifice means a lot and when you do serve on days like this, I promise you, your service means even more to those you treat. I will take note of this experience, especially since I will soon be someone’s doctor within the next year. When it comes time for me to be a resident working on the holidays, I will remember this moment and how grateful I felt to not feel like I was burden for feeling ill. It’s the little things that make the biggest impact. I will cherish this gift - as unexpected as it was. I am so grateful and am blessed to say that I enjoyed this day with my family, something I was so nervous about just a few hours ago that’s dissipated because of their care. I wrote this post not necessarily for my reader, but for me. So when it comes time for me to take up that baton to serve, rain or shine, holiday or any other day, I will remember the way those healthcare workers made me feel when I was not at my best.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
-Maya Angelou
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