...I took my 80 year old brother to the Geriatrics Center at UI Hospital for an appointment. My brother is mentally and physically challenged. We arrived early and he wanted to eat so I took him to the dining facility and ordered lunch for him. By this time the dining area was packed with people. I was trying to navigate the wheelchair and hold on to his lunch and make it through the crowds. Just getting my brother to the hospital that afternoon had been a challenge and I was feeling more than exhausted.

Suddenly a very nice lady appeared and told me to "Be still. I'll get you a tray." She gently rolled the wheelchair to a corner and soon came back with a tray for me to put the food on. She walked with us to the payment station and said something to the cashier. She then rolled my brother to a table and told me to go and get something for myself to eat while she watched him. I couldn't eat anything at this point. She got up from the table and went over to the cashier and took out her wallet to pay for his lunch even though I insisted that she let me pay, she wouldn't. She said "let me be your blessing today."

I asked her name and what she did at the hospital and she said she was a nurse. Her name was Tarla. But by this time I was crying like a baby as I was so overwhelmed by her act of kindness. I am sure she had not had the time to get a lunch for herself.

Before leaving us Tarla took the time to sit and talk and offer me the encouragement that I really needed at that moment.