I wish I could tell you the name of the nurse that tended to me during my recovery following a tonsillectomy on March 21, about 6:00 p.m. I never could get my eyes to focus on her name tag or the picture board in the window a few feet from my bed. The care and concern she demonstrated truly made an impact on me. In fact, I thought about her several times in the night, thinking of her kindness and compassion for me. As I slowly awakened in recovery, I realized that I had defecated in the bed. I mentioned this to her, with my apologies. This nurse looked at me and gently said to this effect "that happens sometimes. We'll get you cleaned up". This professional, with years of education, training and experience, who had mastered every machine and electronic device in the room, stopped what she was doing to gently clean me and comfort me.
As I pondered her actions this morning a scripture came to mind. Philippians 2:7-9 describes how Jesus was in the very form of God, but stepped down from that position to be a veritable slave for humanity. In a similar way, despite all her skills on myriad complex tasks she stopped to perform the most basic and humble task and did so with kindness and gentleness. Her attitude could simply be described as Christ-like. She made a real impact on me; probably no less than she does for dozens of people each day. Her attitude was not just a matter of duty or part of the job. I think she views herself as a servant given a very special and responsible position to help people in a selfless way.
Thank you Theresa Casias, for your compassionate care.