The gravity of healthcare has seldom weighed so heavily in our collective minds than in the past year. As pandemic cases soared, so did our anxiety – yet there was comfort in knowing that should we fall sick, we would be in capable, loving hands. Those hands, the hands of our nurses, had been toiling tirelessly for long before the pandemic arrived but still, they rose to meet this challenge.
I can only offer my gratitude for each of you: caring for the dying while empowering the living; sharing words of encouragement to friends and family; placing your love of humanity before your own safety; the long nights, the long days, a relentless year. This week, Nurse’s Week, we set aside in your honor. But uplifting you and honoring you is something we should do consistently and constantly. You deserve rest, you deserve respite, you deserve to see how much our world is brightened by your presence.
My heart extends to you and your families. Heroes you were, heroes you are, and heroes you will remain. Our nation, and our world, would be diminished without you. Thank you.
Joan
What Nurses Mean to Us…
