When the Lord made nurses.....

[klhs]

he was into his sixth day when an angel appeared and said, "you're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one." and the lord said, "have you seen the specs on this order? a nurse has to be able to help an injured person, breathe life into a dying person, and give comfort to a family that has lost their only child, and not ecen wrinkle their uniform." "they have to be able to lift three times their own weight, work 12 to 16 hour shifts straight without missing a detail, console a grieving mother as they do cpr on a baby they know will never breathe again. they have to be in top mental condition at all times, running on too little sleep, black coffee, and half eaten meals." "and they have to have six pairs of hands." the angel shook her head slowly and said, "six pairs of hands.... no way." "it's not the hands that are causing me problems.. it is the two pairs of eyes a nurse has to have." "that's on the standard model?" asked the angel. the lord nodded, "one pair that does quick glances while making note of any physical changes, and another pair of eyes that can look reassuringly at a bleeding patient and say, 'you'll be alright ma'am' when they know it isn't so." "lord, " said the angel, touching his sleeve, " rest and work on this tomorrow." "i can't," said the lord, "i already have a model that can talk to a 250 pound grieving family member whose child has been hit by a drunk driver... who, by the way, is lying in the next room uninjured, and feed a family of five on a nurse's paycheck." the angel circled the model of the nurse very slowly, "can it think?' she asked. "you bet, " said the lord. "it can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses, recite drug calculations in its sleep, intubate, defibrillate, medicate, and continue cpr until help arrives, and still keep its sense of humor." "this nurse has phenomenal personal control. they can deal with a multi-victim trauma, coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their door, comfort a murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper how nurses are insensitive and uncaring and are only doing a job." finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the nurse. "there's a leak, " she pronounced. "i told you that you were trying to put too much into this model." "that's not a leak," said the lord, "it's a tear." "what's the tear for?" asked the angel. "it's for bottled up emotions, for the patients they have tried in vain to save, for the committment to that hope that they will make a difference in a person's chance to survive, for life." "you're a genius!!" exclaimed the angel. the lord looked somber. "i didn't put it there." he said.

i know this is lengthy... but a patient's family member gave this to me recently and i wanted to share it with you. :)

[live4today, RN]

Hi klhs, :)

What a beautiful tribute to nurses! Thank you for taking the time to share it here. I emailed it to another nurse friend of mine who does not frequent the nursing websites much. So beautiful! :kiss

As I was reading it, I could see myself once scurrying about doing patient care without a moments rest, tending to my patients every need, and not forgetting to take notice of their wants as well. Nurses -- like MOMs -- are terrific indeed! :)

[nur20]

one of the most beautiful pieces i've ever read

[Cubby]

Absolutely perfect! Thank you.

[shipslitehse]

This is WONDERFUL- I've read one like this for moms and if you combine the two......man it really kinda picks you up of f the floor and gives you an attagirl pat on the shoulder!!!!Its a great reminder of all the qualities we share as nurses while being so diverse personally.

Thanks for sharing

[micro, RN]

klhs

thanks for sharing

the world would indeed not have any rainbows if not for the eyes having tears................

[GoodEnuf]

Finally, something encouraging!! It's so true....when you think about what nurses do, the list is infinite! Thanks!!

[RNonsense]

That is really cute! Thanks for sharing! :)

[anitame]

I like it!! Thanks!

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

It's really good. Thanks