I just want to say thank you all of the great ER nurses for treating my husband with such care and concern last night. 

We were the ones parked in the hallway in front of triage. It was so busy beds were lined up all along the corridor walls. How can you forget right?  

It isn’t great not getting a room but sitting where we sat I got a small dose of what it must be like to be an ER nurse. 

I tried not to eavesdrop as you spoke to the EMTs about people who were brought in. A sweet older woman who had two glasses of wine and her blood sugar spiked. She was a great lady and you all marveled at her love for life and giggled when she said maybe she should not have had that second glass of wine. You said you wanted to embrace life like that when you were older. 

Then there were the frequent flyers. Maybe in for some pain meds. I felt so sad for them. There was a mom whose adult son had a seizure and she was making your lives a little hard with her demands that her son be seen asap. You were kind and patient and never were snarky even behind their backs. 

I am not sure how you do it. I heard a nurse getting yelled at by a patient who was clearly mad about everything.  You all just listed the patients options and tried to get her to understand them.  There was a young man brought in on a gurney in handcuffs and watched over by a sheriff and hospital security. I hadn’t even thought about that part of the job. 

 I saw a lot last night. One thing I know for sure is that I am not cut out of the same cloth as a nurse is at all. We all have our gifts and what a gift you have to tend to the sickest people and still keep smiling.  My 14 year old son was also watching intently. When we were leaving he said he might like to be a “medic” on the ambulance. I think you made an impression on this young boy. What a compliment to your good work. 

Nobody likes feeling sick and having to lay in an ER corridor but we made the best of it and you took great care of my husband in the midst of all the chaos around. Thank you. Getting this glimpse into your world was an eye opener and I have an even greater respect in all that you do. 

God Bless-

From the lady who watched in awe in the corridor.