Mary Kelley served as a patient's nurse one evening and inspired me with a creative act of kindness that speaks to the highest values of our community of caregivers in these times. Our patient's family has been staying near the hospital, and Mary coordinated by phone with them to arrange a special meet-up.
Mary took the patient in her wheelchair and mask down to a glass bridge of windows where the patient's family were waiting one floor below on the sidewalk to wave up and tell our patient how much they love her by phone, while they could see one another with their own eyes. This is a small substitute for a loving embrace in person, but it meant the world to our patient and her family. Physical distancing, it seems, need not mean giving up on social solidarity. I'll take heart from Mary's selfless actions. It's through prioritizing dignity and looking out for one another as Mary did for her patient that we will overcome the seemingly impossible challenges ahead.