if only there was one more opportunity to say thank you

it's nights likes these that remind me of a few weeks ago when my mother-in-law passed away. this feeling of being tired, but not being able to go to sleep. that was what it was like when we were all at the hospital. none of us really went to sleep. we kept watch at her bedside. 

my husband told me that when his father passed away 12 years ago, it happened over night when they had all gone home to sleep. it was that experience that made them, and me, not want to leave her side.

there were so many things that happened. i sometimes just sit and literally play the scenes over and over in my head. i think it's because while the experience was a sad one, the doctors and nurses at the north shore university hospital in manhasset were so incredibly great. my mother in law was in the emergency department (building 2), on the 4th floor in the neurosurgical intensive care unit. any chance i got, i said thank you to the nurses for taking such good care of her. but i wish i had thanked them more. i wish i remembered all their names.

there was the nurse who made me a makeshift bed out of chairs so i can get some sleep.. she looked so worried but i kept reassuring her that i have dark circles even when i have 8 hours of sleep; there was someone who chatted me about tae kwon do and how her boyfriend would go train in korea.. it was good to talk about something that wasn't related to what was going on at the moment; one of our visitors offered comic relief by having a crush on one of the guy nurses.. and he got assigned to us that one night when she didn't come to visit...; and another nurse probably should win patience of the year award for answering one too many questions we had about anything and everything. there was a doctor who spent time in korea and knew a few words. he called my mother-in-law ah joom ma (something you call an older woman) instead of hal muh ni (literally meaning grandmother) and we chuckled and said that she would've liked that a lot...

our attending doctor and the doctors who cared for her over night were wonderful and so very professional {ok.. so i was a little intimidated at first, but who isn't scared of doctors..?}. our attending doctor explained throughly until we understood what was happening and shared updates with us every morning... we were lucky to have her be taken care of the wonderful folks at the intensive care unit at north shore.

so thank you once again.. for taking good care of her.. and all of us, too. 

Pin It