Seeing the Daylight

Last week was my final Night Shift at Vanderbilt University Hospital on 8 North.  It has been an experience that I will not soon forget.  

I recently watched a movie entitled, Never Let Me Go, in which there was a quote I found myself resonating strongly with.  The quote stated, "Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly.  But I don't go along with that.  The memories I value most, I don't ever see them fading." 

-Kazuo Ishiguro.

In a way, that is how I feel about 8 North.  There were nights when I ventured into work crying and full of defeat before the shift even began. Yet, there were mornings when I would leave full of hope and confidence knowing that I had made a positive difference and impact in the life of another human being.

I saw life and I saw death. I came to recognize the power of the human touch and the peace that a listening ear can impart to another being. 

I was a part of victory and a part of loss in my patient's life stories.

I came to know my coworkers in an intimate way.  We worked in the trenches together and we experienced situations that many cannot understand or fathom; but we do, because we were a part of them.

Onto new beginnings. I start my journey now with Day Shift. I still have so much to learn. 

I will always hold dear my experience of Night Shift. It was one of the hardest experiences I have ever been through, and yet one of the greatest. It is a painful process to grow at times, but one that is well worth it. I have gone through the fire and have been tested and refined (Zechariah 13:9).

Thank you 8 North for teaching me not only about my own weaknesses and failings as a human being and a Nurse, but for the wisdom, hope, and strength you imparted and instilled in my character as well.  You will not soon be forgotten.......