These past few months of COVID-19 pandemic and social upheaval have been trying times. Folks can get worn out by the news feed.
With all the ups and downs, you can easily take an emotional beating from it all.
It’s been hard these past few months to remain optimistic.
But, I had a grounding of sorts these past few weeks from an unexpected source: health care workers.
A member of my immediate family needed corrective surgery. I’ve spent a lot of time at Cardinal Glennon lately, luckily just a five minute drive from my house.
I didn’t know what to expect walking into a hospital masked up and a bit hesitant on the whole endeavor, but one thing hit me the instant we breached the front doors. The good guys, the humble, the hard working, the caring were all around us from the get go.
Everywhere. From the cafeteria, to the halls, to the administrators, patient coordinators and of course the TCUs and ORs,
The place was filled by those that have goodness in them. Not all want to be there, I’m sure. Not all want to increase their risk of exposure. But these are the jobs they’ve chosen and they showed up and did it with grace and dignity.
We experienced the love/caring that comes through from these medical professionals.
The lady who cleaned the floors and sanitized our room took the time to make us laugh about the incessant fireworks and dubious July 4th behavior in her North City neighborhood and let us bitch about the arguably dumber stuff taking place in our South City neighborhood.
We laughed together and she left us with a brief sense of joy and commonality as St. Louis citizens.
The lady who worked at the Starbucks in the hallway was a shining light, and not just for the caffeine distribution. It seemed like everybody knew her name. She didn’t play the benign music you typically hear in this global chain, she was spinning her own jams. Old school soul jams. This lifted my spirits greatly and she was a genuine sweetheart.
I felt like I loved my city/people again. It felt strangely uplifting to be in a place where people really have no alternative but to show up for work out of necessity for health care.
The doctors and nurses were straight up heroes. They were so attentive, patient and kind. Such great decisions made and care given. I now know what “code blue” means and let me tell ya, I respect the woman that pushed that button for us when it was needed.
A doctor speaking directly to a patient with no condescension or pretension speaks volumes to younger people. We experienced the doctors and nurses asking the patient the questions and explaining the next steps. Then looking to us as parents and asking if it makes sense to us and if WE have any questions. Speaking to all patients first is something I did not experience when I was a kid; it used to seem like a parent:doctor transaction and the child patient was a bystander.
Matching bedside manner with top notch surgical skills is an amazing thing to behold.
I feel we need never forget that when it hits the fan and you need care and help that you cannot provide on your own, healthcare workers are among those doing the hard work no matter what.
I think our hospitals and health care workers are undervalued as regional assets. Raising three kids and just being human, we’ve spent plenty of time at Barnes-Jewish/Children’s/WashU, SLU/SSM and Cardinal Glennon. All these places have provided us with incredible care.
I’m so proud of them, and by proxy, our city. Due to their skill, care and kindness, one of my family members is at home healing, recovering and making amazing progress.
Thanks to all those who put in the hard work for others.
