Being thankful

This is the time of the year we nurses are reminded of how grim our job can be.. how tough our job can get.
I’m speaking for our patients, and well… for us.

The holiday season is the one time of the year we all want to be with our family, our friends, our loved ones. I think we can all agree on that. Unfortunately the health care system, more specifically the hospital system, doesn’t just close down for the holiday season. It doesn’t recognize holiday seasonal hours. It doesn’t have holiday ‘specials’. We have to conduct ourselves and perform our jobs during the holidays in the same manner we do the rest of the year.

This means someone is going to be sick. Someone is going to need medical attention. Someone is going to need nursing care.

So it’s a tough time.

Not that there is an ‘easy’ time to be a patient, or be ill – but it becomes especially difficult during the holiday season. Patient’s will have to mend and heal from the cold and sometimes lonely atmosphere of their hospital bed instead of celebrating the holiday from the comfort of their own home, or the comfort of their family’s household. And, there will be those nurses who will have to brave the challenges of the day at work instead of spending that cherished time with the ones they love.

Like I said a tough time.

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all of my wonderful colleagues near and far for making the sacrifice during the holidays. Thanks to you, others get to have that holiday time with those that matter.

Thank you.

I’d also like to share another ‘Thank You’. This thank you goes out to all the men and women in the armed forces. They too make the ultimate sacrifice everyday out there. It’s because of them that we have what we have and get to do what we do.

If you have the time, I would urge you to reach out and personally Thank our troops, and the Xerox company is making that possible. Xerox has a website where you can send a postcard to our military personnel overseas FOR FREE. The website gives you a list of pre-made postcards made from children from around America. You get to pick from a list of pre-made messages or you can create your own message to include in your postcard – Unfortunately you don’t get the designate the recipient of your postcard.

This is an all around GREAT thing. How better of a way to show our love and support to the men and women who are giving the ultimate sacrifice so that you can celebrate the holidays with your loved ones.

I checked the validity of this service here.

Do you have 5 minutes during this holiday season to thank those who are providing you with the opportunity to celebrate your holiday?

The holiday season is the one time of the whole year we are the people that we always hoped we would be.

I Thank You.

Carpe Diem