Silent Comfort

In the face of “extreme devastation”, this young nurse brought “pure comfort” to a grieving son. This son recounted the pouring of emotions he felt at the time of his father’s death.  The family was gathered around the ICU bed when he saw the tears in the nurse’s eyes, and he felt deep gratitude toward her. Eleven years later, he told me this story of the impact moment that will never leave him: the feelings of “safety and comfort” provided by that nurse.  He could not remember one word, for her deep, therapeutic intervention at the time of crisis for this family came not in sound, but feeling.  He told me over a decade later of his gratitude to that nurse who was “willing and open to experience my pain.” He appreciated that she chose to enter into his sorrow and be vulnerable to cry, taking the toll of grief on herself in order to provide him and his family with precious, unspoken comfort. 

            So, my dear nurses, you do not need to have the right words, for you already have the right heart.  Please continue to have the courage to walk with patients and families in their pain, even though it hurts. Please never forget that probably hundreds of people remember you as “that nurse”, that special person who touched their hearts at the most critical moment, even though you may not have realized it. You only hear back from a tiny fraction of people whom you impact, but never doubt the power of your unspoken comfort that radiates from a caring heart.  All my blessings to you!  ~JBM