Kind Word

A kind word goes a long way. I always knew that but it was reinforced yesterday. I sat for 7 hours in three different hospital waiting rooms. My father's surgery went well and he was able to go home and sprint up the front steps. He did better than most 50 year olds. Each hospital staff member I encountered was so kind and caring. It started with the housekeeping staff. I watched as worker, Carlos,  meticulously scrubbed down a gurney. He saw me watching and stopped to talk. He said, " I wash the gurney very well, because maybe one day I will be a patient in it". We chatted a bit and he told me about how he loves working at the hospital. As it turns out, when my father left the hospital this man walked him to the car and settled him in. He hugged my father as we left. The next encounter was in the holding area. A nurse named Theresa came over to tell my mother how beautiful she was and how pretty her outfit was. She remembered my mother from the previous week's surgery. She was from Trinidad and kept referring to my mother as "beautiful mama", in her wonderfully lilting accent. In the recovery room, we met Kate. She came over to me and addressed me by name even though no one knew my name. She said she remembered my parents talking about me the previous week and asked how my sister was, also by her name. When I told Theresa how good she made us feel, she said something similar to Carlos, in housekeeping. She said,"We are people too, and one day we might be a patient here. We treat you as we would want to be treated". Thank you, the staff of Beth Israel Hospital, for all that you did for my family.