Doctor's Sympathy Cards

I went to work this morning and heard the worst bit of news first thing.  One of our weekend doctors lost his wife Saturday.  He was working.  She had told him she didn't feel well when they last spoke.  He was working about 3 hours away from where they live and had decided to stay in the area that night for his shift in the morning.  I'm sure he was thinking he could get to work earlier and get out and on the road to her early on Sunday.  But when he called her repeatedly on Sunday morning, she did not answer.  Becoming worried and concerned, he called to his grown son who also lives in the same area as they do and asked him to go check on her.  It was too late.  She was gone.  They are late 40's/early 50's.  Apparently when his son called to let him know, he was in the middle of a nursing station and was grief stricken.  Blaming himself that he knew he should have gone home, he had a feeling something was wrong.  He hit the counter tops, went into the little kitchenette and closed the door and just started screaming.  I cannot imagine this amount of palpable pain.  I don't even want to know.  They were together forever and very much in love.  And I am deeply saddened by this news.

I share this private story with you because I know for myself and for some of my co-workers, that while we see loss everyday, we kind of put up a shield around us to protect us from being as devastated as those suffering around us.  It takes something like this, from the inside, to really break through that barrier and give us all a wake up call.  About just how life is so precious and how quickly it can be taken away when you least suspect it.  Our hospital members are like family and while we joke we are the most dysfunctional of all families, we still care about each other very much.  I came home tonight and climbed on line to find two cards to case in a hurry so I can rush these to work tomorrow to give everyone a chance to sign them and I even added panels to the back of the outside, some of us have to say a bit more than others, lol. 

Being a health care worker, I know what it feels like to be working, helping others, when someone at home needs you and so I feel so bad for him.  I know he is blaming himself and doing the what "ifs".  They are a strong Christian family, but sometimes this kind of loss can really shake the foundation of your faith.  But to be honest with you, the first thing I thought of is that part in the bible that says God will never give you more than you can handle.  And maybe, just maybe, he knew that this doctor would not be able to handle being there.  It would have been too much for him.  And in his grief, I wanted him to know that a whole facility of people care for him very much. 

These Cards were cased from Karen Squires and Kathy.
Thank God these two women made fabulous cards, I did not have time to design tonight, but I desperately needed two cards. 

Cyber hugs to our doctor,

Holly