what’s the name of that store on the corner?
Aug. 16, 2011
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Exasperated, she raised her voice because I hadn’t heard her the first time. “How come no one understands me when I speak?”
“Mmmm… I don’t think it’s you, it’s me. I’m not from here, so sometimes I’m not used to hearing the way people talk here.”
“Oh you mean…. my ACCENT.” Continue reading
“I don’t know why I can’t sleep,” he sighed.
Exhausted, he looked worn out from a tough fight. A glisten of perspiration shone upon his forehead, highlighting the furrow in his brows. He sat in a chair; he had given up trying to sleep on the bed. A thin cotton blanket draped his shoulders. His chin rested in the palm of his hands, his body leaned forward in a tripod position, and his elbows planted on his knees.
After being a nurse a few years, I began to anticipate what that look meant. The drowsiness hanging on his face. How general malaise sedates your senses and nullifies your responses. Where the heat creeps up, and suddenly you feel incredibly cold, or strangely hot. Where I could see it, before I even feel it.
I swiped his forehead with a temporal artery thermometer. 102.4 degrees. That probably explained his elevated heart rate. But the rest of his vital signs being off?
Restless, he stood up, tossing the blanket upon the chair. He paced the room. “I just can’t sleep.. I don’t know…” His hands shook, ever so slightly.
It finally dawned on me… Continue reading
some things that only God understands…
What does it take
to change a life
from within?
Young and fearless
those 3 words,
inscribed on your chest
Invincible you were
til one day,
gun shots fired Continue reading
We always joke that when patients don’t sleep at night… it must be a full moon.
I have got to get out of this place.
It is cold. It is not home. And where is my husband?
I swing my legs to the side of the bed to try to leave, right next to the side rail. But what is that ringing sound? Continue reading
another thing I’m thankful for: the colors of autumn. (2011).
Back in the day, when I was workin’ in the South, most my colleagues were white, black, or Latino.
Until I met Vladimir. Continue reading
Cherry Blossoms in April
It is the little things that remind me of God’s goodness and His never ending kindness. Although the past few weeks have been rough (evident in my last 4 posts that were tagged “death” and “tragedy”), I am forcing myself to stop and recognize the many blessings in my daily life.
I’m thankful for…. Continue reading
“You showed us, Boston, that in the face of evil, Americans will lift up what’s good. In the face of cruelty, we will choose compassion. In the face of those who would visit death upon innocents, we will choose to save and to comfort and to heal. We’ll choose friendship. We’ll choose love. Because Scripture teaches us God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.”
-President Obama
It’s been a tough week. Thanks Mr. President for this reminder.
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a repost from my old blog. life before the tragedy.
The cityscape twinkled beyond the windows, as the train slowly crossed the bridge. It was dusk; the darkness looming and the sky scraper lights illuminating. Peering out, old memories began to flood my mind. I remembered the hundreds of times which I admired this same scene: the river, the buildings, the lights. Except I wasn’t on the train those times, I was at the bedside, in the hospital.
Searching for Substance 