And So It Was....

She breathed her last breath in her own home, surrounded by family, held in the bosom of love.

And so it was.


She turned to me as I held her hand, and the affection between client and nurse was palpable.

And so it was.

He turned in bed, his nasal cannula wrapped awkwardly around his face. I straightened the tubes and asked, "Would you like some cake?" He grinned like a child.

And so it was.

The home health aide was replacing the pain pills with Vitamin C. We noticed.

And so it was. 

She fired the home health aide because she was "too fat", and she fired the other home health aide because she was "too dark", and the next one because she was "too young".

And so it was.

She fell and broke her hip, lying on the bedroom floor for four days, unable to reach the phone or call for help. That was how the Meals-on-Wheels driver found her: dehydrated, soiled and expecting to die alone on the floor.

And so it was.

Behind the wrinkles, the weeping eye and the bent body, her utter beauty shone through like an eclipsed star.

And so it is.

The life of a nurse can sometimes be like poetry.