Should Be A Christmas Story

[Guest guest]

E:-}Greetings: Today I received this Chicken Soup for the Soul Story.

I am passing it on because it is so relative to people in pain.

All in a Day's Work By Naomi Rhode

Emergency-room personnel transported him to the cardiac floor.

Long hair, unshaven, dirty, dangerously obese and a black motorcycle

jacket tossed on the bottom shelf of the stretcher - an outsider to this

sterile world of shining terrazzo floors, efficient uniformed

professionals and strict infection-control procedures.

Definitely an untouchable! The nurses at the station looked

wide-eyed as this

mound of humanity was wheeled by - each glancing nervously at my friend

Bonnie, the head nurse. " Let this one not be mine to admit, bathe and

tend to... " was the pleading, unspoken message from their inner concern.

One of the true marks of a leader, a consummate professional, is to

do the unthinkable. To touch the untouchable. To tackle the

impossible. Yes, it was Bonnie who said, " I want this patient myself. "

Highly unusual for a head nurse - unconventional - but " the stuff " out

of which human spirits thrive, heal and soar. As she donned her latex

gloves and proceeded to bathe this huge, filthy man, her heart almost

broke. Where was his family? Who was his mother? What was he like as

a little boy? She hummed quietly as she worked to ease the fear and

embarrassment she knew he must have been feeling. And then on a whim

she said, " We don't have time for back rubs much in hospitals these

days, but I bet one would really feel good. And, it would help you

relax your muscles and start to heal.

That is what this place is all about - a place to heal. " All in a day's

work. Touching the untouchable. His thick, scaly, ruddy skin told a

story of an

abusive lifestyle. Probably lots of addictive behavior, to food,

alcohol and drugs. As Bonnie rubbed the taut muscles, she hummed and

prayed. Prayed for the soul of a little boy grown up, rejected by

life's rudeness and striving for acceptance in a hard, hostile world.

The finale - warmed lotion and baby powder. Almost laughable -

such a contrast on this huge, rugged surface. As he rolled over onto

his back, tears rolled down his cheek. With amazingly beautiful brown

eyes, he smiled and

said in a quivering voice, " No one has touched me for years. " His chin

trembled. " Thank you. I am healing. "

In a day when we have increasing concern about the appropriateness

of touch, Bonnie taught this hurting world to still dare to touch the

untouchable through eye contact, a warm handshake, a concerned voice -

or the physical reassurance of warmed lotion and baby powder.

Be Blessed

D.

Moderator - Chronic Pain

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These are my three treasures,

Compassion, Frugality, & Humility.

Being Compassionate one has Courage,

Being Frugal one has Abundance.

Being Humble one becomes the chief of all vessels.

~~Lao Tzu~~

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