Healing with Love

Recently I have been thinking about life down in the hospital, and why we (the nurses) are here.

Of course, we are here to provide the obvious medical care that is needed before and after surgery, but that is only part of our job. True, our patients need their medications and wound care, and we need to do our assessments, but often what our patients need more than any medication is love and unconditional acceptance.

Many of our patients come to us nervous, frightened, and ashamed. Nervous and frightened, because they have never been this far from home, have never been on a ship, and definitely not a hospital ship full of white people. For some of the children, it is there first time to every see a person with white skin. I have smiled at a newly admitted toddler before, only to have her scream and run away crying to her mother. Then there is the upcoming surgery for them to worry about. Add to that the shame that they bear because of their condition. Often our patients have been laughed at and ridiculed for their condition, if not outright rejected because they are thought to be cursed.

As the ones who will have the most interaction with the patients, we have the honor and privilege of being the ones who will have the greatest impact. We do what we can to make them feel safe. We are kind and gentle. We treat them as people of value. We laugh with them, smile with them, encourage them when they are down. For some of our patients, this is the most valuable thing that we can do for them. We cannot remove scars, and we cannot always make a person look "normal" Our surgeons do what they can, but they cannot work miracles. But with our love and encouragement they can still leave the ship with heads held high, knowing that they are not cursed. They are worthy of love and acceptance. And this will make more of a difference in their lives than any surgery.