Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Through It All
This has been an awful eight days. I know for many, you still have no power and are just beginning to figure out how to rebuild your lives. I don’t want this blog to diminish any of the pain you are going through. I want to provide an opportunity for people to share what they have been part of or have seen given during these last eight days.
Having a bird's eye view in the command center, I saw more than I wanted to at times! I saw amazing acts of generosity - Bobbi Jo Pansier organizing work crews at the homes of two staff members to pull out their carpets and get their stuff out of their homes before the mold set in.
I saw people take coworker’s cars to go sit in gas lines so they would have gas to get home. I saw Phd trained professionals vacuumed floors and clean bathrooms because it needed to be done. I saw people bring in food from home for our inpatient staff, so they didn’t have to eat sandwiches one more day. I saw people who stayed 48 hours straight, sleeping at the hospital so kids would have care. In the devastation we had some fun. Every baby they gave me to feed, I put to sleep before they finished their bottles! I saw Pastor Baker walk in to Stevens Road and then a miracle - the power came back on! Beth Anne M. Dobosh showed up on Halloween with the best looking witch hat I have ever seen!
And in it all, I saw love. Love for our children. Love for each other and a desire to give and do more. Please share you stories about what you experienced and how you are feeling through it all.
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4 comments:
I saw you, just offering a hug or a gentle touch and the comfort to know we would get through this together. Thank you.
For those who lost the most, i saw their spirit prevail. For the rest of us I saw a united front with the most heartfelt compassionate people giving their all, no questions asked.
I saw a tight group of people get even more supportive for each other. The generosity of time, caring and support to it's utmost out of each and every person I saw was amazing. I saw the children react calm and not even look like they were concerned with what was going on outside because they were so involved with people and fun on the unit. There was no one that said "no" when something needed to be done. I thank God for each little thing I saw that encourages each of us to continue on, especially when times are tough.
My favorite memory of spending the night in New Brunswick during the hurricane is when Amy Mansue and Pattie Foley decided we were going to host a “game night” with the inpatients to give the nurses a much needed break. So there we were completely outnumbered by kids that have been through a lot that day. So we decide to play a game of Skipo, but none of us adults knew how to play! We had a few kids try to explain it, and one little girl who jus t made up her own rules. All in all it was a wonderful way to end what had been a very stressful day for everyone.
The day of the hurricane was my first day back to work after being out for 10 days. I had to return home to Detroit because of the suddden death of my 46yr old sister from respiratory and kidney failure. I dreaded coming back because I was an emotional wreck to say the least. And I knew I was going to have to stay once I got there..so I backed my suitcase with 4 days worth of clothes, grabbed my blanket and pillow and came in at 12 noon instead of my usual 3p. I was greeted with warm hugs and gentle words of sympathy by my coworkers on the 2nd floor. Being there took away some of my pain and helpled me forget even for a little while the last 10 days. Seeing my kids ask me if I was ok because they knew something wasn't right, giving me hugs when I told them of the loss of my sister took some of the hurt away. Seeing my coworkers come together to take care of the kids, their families and me on my first day back made me proud to be a part of CSH. There isn't a better group of people I would rather call friends :)
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