Fauzia is a bright star in a dark night. She enters the patient’s room with a big smile and introduces herself. Fauzia first asks how the patient is doing, if there are any questions the patient wants to ask, if there are there any concerns she can address. For the patient, it feels like someone is there to truly help with the anxiety, the fear, and the helplessness. A friend.

When Fauzia sees that something needs addressing, she takes care of it without a patient asking or in the case of a patient who has memory issues and not knowing how to ask for help. Pulling a patient up in bed who has slipped too far forward while sitting, or is twisted in her covers, or who desperately needs a drink of water and doesn’t remember how to press the button for help. These simple things done just by coming into the room and looking at the patient and seeing a need and taking care of it mean so very much. It shows a great quality of mercy. It shows that the nurse sees their work as a calling and not a job. And this quality of mercy makes the difference for a patient. It gives a patient hope. It gives the patient the desire to get well and continue to live.