I didn’t have a lot of visits to make at the big hospital this week. I went down to the Cancer Center first, but there weren’t any patients. While I was there, though, I did visit with the receptionist and also the nurse, who hasn’t seen me in a while.
Pediatrics was almost as quiet. There was just one little girl to see, and her parents were welcoming. But she was scared of me! She alternated between wanting to touch me and cowering. So I wound up not visiting. Usually children are happy to see me, but every so often they’re scared, like this girl was.
Then I went up to Labor and Delivery. The nurses are always happy to see me there! And there was a patient to visit, a young Spanish speaking woman going through her first pregnancy. Even though she was in bed, she was still wearing her make up, including eyelashes. Sometimes when someone is going through a big hospital event, they need something like make up to help them feel something close to normal. While we were there, an older couple (probably her parents) showed up. The lady who was probably the mother told us how scared the young woman was. I was glad to spend some time with her.
By then, we still had some time, but as I was walking through the hospital hallway, a couple of nurses saw me and wanted to spend time with me. And of course I drew a little bit of a crowd. On days like this, when it’s kind of slow, I make sure to spend extra time with staff. They need the stress relief.
Even though my human and I were disappointed that we didn’t get to see that many patients, it’s still important to show up for the staff. And the visitors too. Hospital life is hard, and while most patients come and go, the people who show up every day to work, or are visiting a sick loved one are going through a lot. And they need me too.