I’ve had an interesting journey with my health. I don’t mean to share for pity, but to illustrate that I have met so many doctors, nurses, and other staff in the plethora of surgeries, procedures, office visits, ED visits, etc. There have always been the great ones, and I appreciate them, of course. But there have also been some not-so-great ones that make you appreciate the good ones a little better.

Last night, I went to the Bedford ER. It wasn’t anything related to my normal health-related issues, those things I’m usually strong about because I’m used to dealing with them, unfortunately. But I somehow woke up in the middle of the night last night and managed to slip on something, fall, and smack my head on the corner of my bathroom counter. I was freaked out and scared. It was the middle of the night, and no one was up to go with me. I ended up fine, so no worries. Happy ending! I kind of know the drill in hospitals (unfortunately! Not a brag) but this time I was alone and hurting and scared. Edyth was the nurse who brought me back and did all the initial checking me out. She instantly had a warmth to her that made me feel safe, not alone, and not so scared. She finished up and kindly said, “Well, I may not be the nurse that ends up taking care of you, so someone else may be in!” I knew that’s how the ER worked, but I asked her if she could just stay anyway, and she, without hesitation, said absolutely. She calmly walked me through what may happen while I was there, what to expect, and that she was there and sat with me and told me it would all be okay even though it’s scary now. I knew the drill as far as the work up stuff, but it was calming and comforting to hear that from her.

I thought about it in the morning when I got home, and no one had ever done that for me, told me what to expect and what the night was looking like. It was a simple thing that she probably didn’t even think of because she always does it, but it was huge to me. To me, that’s a specific little, tiny thing that made a really, really big difference. At one point, she gave me a shot in my stomach, and I yelled out loudly because, well, it hurt. I felt bad and apologized profusely because I knew the ER staff could get beat up over the course of their shifts. She didn’t need to hear me being a pansy about a shot, ha! I made a self-deprecating joke, and she giggled, joked with me too, and told me repeatedly it was okay, she knew those hurt, and that she was here, and everything would be fine. I have some dark humor, like making fun of myself, which usually helps me through bad things. She picked up on that, so she was (very, very appropriately) laughing at my silly jokes, which made me feel a lot better too. Sometimes, an eye roll, a cold attitude, maybe a bad look, and a belittling “you’re fine” can really be a jab when you’re trying to comfort yourself in a silly way. She knew to go along with that, and I appreciated that. She was just doing her job the way she always does, I could see it.

There was nothing out of the ordinary that she was doing, just her job that she was good at. But that just made me realize that she is just that excellent. She might have had the worst patients doing who knows what or saw something tragic and devastating happen before she came into my room, but I didn’t see that for a second. She was calm, collected, warm, supportive, and good at the technical stuff that I wouldn’t even begin to be able to explain about her job. Most importantly to me, she was so incredibly compassionate and made me feel safe and not alone. You can be great at your job and care for patients, but there was just that little extra within her that I could see wasn’t something she had to put on when she went into a patient room or try to always keep at the forefront of her mind about doing. She is excellent at the core. Bedford ED is lucky to have her, and I hope she can be recognized for how wonderful I’m sure she always is and how she really helped me get by, not all alone, on my crappy, embarrassing night.

I’ve known about the DAISY Award, and it’s never crossed my mind to do it; I’ve had great people take great care of me. But she has that little extra about her in her soul that makes her really deserving of this. Edyth, Thank You for making me feel better when I had an embarrassing accident, was scared, and no one picked up their phone in the middle of the night. You may not have known it, and I certainly didn’t have the words during the chaos to say it to you then, but you were my family when I didn’t have any that night. I really appreciate you, and I hope God continues to bless you and always help remind you when things get hard and weird, as I’m sure they do in the ER (ha!), that you have a sparkle and warmth that will make a difference for someone even if they can’t put it into words at the time. Thank you for being you.