I find myself grateful for electricity, and for backup generators, and then I think of every time anyone has had to evacuate a hospital because of a natural disaster. Love in action.
Nurses move skillfully, doing their jobs with confidence despite the audience of concerned loved ones. They understand fear; they take the time to explain this beeping or that medicine.
Prayer circles, prayer quilts, styrofoam cups of ice water.
I am in awe of the brilliant magicians who have tested, imagined, built, rebuilt, studied, created, refined, perfected, every single piece of equipment here.
Strangers cry in adjoining rooms; hours pass and pass.
The rustle of paper gowns, going on and coming off. Purple gloves occasionally dropped on the floor, white-and-yellow face masks allowing eyes to shine, to water.
So many IVs, so many cords, so many warnings on neon stickers not to be missed.
Doctors peer in. We need the whole team.
The rhythm of the ventilator fills the room. Inhale, exhale. In, out.
Heal. Learn to breathe again. Be at peace.
