To all nurses wherever today finds you, thank you and thank you again.
Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds, your daily dose of hope, imagination, wisdom, stories, practical tips, and general riffing on this and that.
When I was young U.S. Navy nurse at Portsmouth Naval Hospital I had charge of a 30-bed open ward, a 2 bed burn unit, and a 4 crib step down unit. All pediatric patients. Children and babies were in my care. I was 22 years old. Oftentimes dad was at sea and mom could not be at her child’s bedside.
In the hallway outside the ward was a bank of phone booths in the old style with folding wood and glass doors.
Early one evening I walked a little girl in her nightgown and slippers to the phone booth to call her mother and say goodnight. Leaning against the wall I overheard the murmured conversation and then a pause.
The little girl turned to me and asked, “When do you close?” I said, “We don’t close. We’re here all night.”
She turned back to the phone and said, “It’s okay, mom. They don’t close. The nurses are here all night.”
And that’s how it’s been my whole life because - like you - once a nurse always a nurse.
To all nurses wherever today finds you, thank you and thank you again.
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Production Team: Quarter Moon Story Arts
Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music
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