温馨夜读II PART2 10.Working Christmas Day

[00:00.30]10.Working Christmas Day

[00:03.78]It was unusually quiet in the emergency room on December 25.

[00:08.47]I was triage nurse that day. 

[00:11.19]I didn’t think there would be any patients, sighing about having to work on Christmas. 

[00:15.65]Just then five bodies showed up at my desk, a pale woman and four small children.

[00:21.32]“Are you all sick?” I asked suspiciously.

[00:24.69]“Yes,” she said weakly and lowered her head.

[00:28.50]But when it came to descriptions of their presenting problems, things got a little vague. 

[00:33.73]Two of the children had headaches, 

[00:36.13]but the headaches weren’t accompanied by the normal body language of holding the head or trying to keep it still. 

[00:41.79]Two children had earaches 1, but only one could tell me which ear was affected 2. 

[00:46.47]The mother complained of a cough but seemed to work to produce it.

[00:51.48]Something was wrong, but I didn’t say anything but explained that it might be a little while before a doctor saw her. 

[00:57.69]She responded, “Take your time; it’s warm in here.”

[01:01.71]On a hunch 3, I checked the chart after the admitting clerk had finished registering the family. 

[01:06.72]No address—they were homeless. The waiting room was warm.

[01:11.84]I looked out at the family huddled 4 by the Christmas tree. 

[01:14.89]The littlest one was pointing at the television and exclaiming something to her mother. 

[01:19.46]The oldest one was looking at an ornament 5 on the Christmas tree.

[01:22.73]I went back to the nurses’ station and mentioned we had a homeless family in the waiting room. 

[01:27.74]The nurses, grumbling 6 about working Christmas, turned to compassion 7 for a family just trying to get warm on Christmas. 

[01:35.36]The team went into action, much as we do when there’s a medical emergency. 

[01:40.26]But this one was a Christmas emergency.

[01:43.64]We were all offered a free meal in the hospital cafeteria on Christmas Day, 

[01:48.11]so we claimed that meal and prepared a banquet for our Christmas guests. 

[01:52.24]We needed presents. We put together oranges and apples in a basket. 

[01:57.14]We collected from different departments candies, crayons and other things available that could be presents. 

[02:03.48]As seriously as we met the physical needs of the patients that came to us that day, 

[02:08.29]our team worked to meet the needs, and exceed the expectations, of a family who just wanted to be warm on Christmas Day.

[02:16.49]Later, as the family walked to the door to leave, the four-year-old came running back, gave me a hug and whispered, 

[02:23.60]“Thanks for being our angels today.”