The Pain Clinic celebrates each employee's birthday in a small way that usually involves salad, pizza, and some sort of theme. This week we had two birthdays with two days and a circus theme was decided upon. In conjunction with the "potluck", snacks (circus peanuts, popcorn, animal crackers), birthday cards and circus tableware and decorations, the staff brought in circus related clown masks, clown noses and clown hair and other circus regalia to take a group picture in the spirit of celebration.
Later in the day when the clinic started to slow down, nurse Nancy Zabik noticed that a patient's family member from an ongoing surgical procedure was sitting in the waiting room across the corridor from the clinic. The visitor (mom) was sitting there for some time throughout the afternoon. Nurse Nancy observed the visitor had two small children who were somewhat quarantined within confines of the small waiting room.
Nurse Nancy, a mother of five herself, and being ever resourceful, put together a small care package from our circus party for the family. This included some of our circus snacks and munchies. Nurse Nancy, not to be outdone, also dressed the part by putting on all the available clown attire and as she entered the small waiting room looking hilariously foppish, we could hear the sounds of two highly energetic and gleefully happy children. A child's laughter is infectious. Who would have anticipated a clown visiting a hospital waiting room with children?
In short the children and family were overjoyed, as Nurse Nancy used her gifts, talents, and special love of children to make a difficult stay more pleasant for the family. She took the extra step to get involved in another person's life. How easy it would have been to do nothing. PFCC involves starting the spark of community and showing we are all human after all.