February 7th

It’s the weirdest feeling, walking through the doors and halls of a clutter-free building only to find yourself with a feeling that you’re somehow lost even though you’re right where you need to be. You ask a nurse which way to go and they direct you effortlessly. You pass through the threshold of the door leading to the ER waiting room and find comfort only in the fact that the faces you are looking at are familiar, but you quickly snap out of it because this is not an exciting greeting. Your heart is racing, you find yourself a seat; and you sit. You sit there watching everyone, listening to everyone, hearing everyone and seeing everyone and then someone turns and makes eye-contact with you almost pleading you to make it all go away.

It’s the weirdest feeling, sitting there with no idea what to say to anyone. When you are sitting there wondering the same questions and arriving at the same answers yet people look to you for a word, wisdom, discernment, or anything that will help them from being scared, nervous or hurt. You can say nothing.

This was my night tonight. February 7, 2015 was that kind of night. One of my students, one whom admittedly I know better than the others was long boarding down a hill and had the board get away from him before he flew forward hitting his head on the ground and being airlifted to the ER 30 minutes away. On this night, I sat there with students and moms and dads and grandparents and friends and siblings and all at once I found myself being looked to for a word or some gem of wisdom that could ease the pain.

The best I could come up with was, “do you need a hug?”

Let me break the silence by saying that this student is doing okay as of this moment. He’s talking, cleaned up, joking and just wants some more morphine. They are keeping him overnight to make sure he’s good to go. However, when I first was allowed to go back and see him, he was in tough shape.

It’s amazing how many of us feel like we are strong enough to take on the world. This young man is a beast. He’s super strong. He bench presses an impressive weight, dead lifts 500lbs like a warmup, hits like a hammer in football and oozes strength in every area. He’s as strong as they come. It’s amazing how many of us feel like we are strong enough to take on the world, yet in the right circumstances our strength flees and we are rendered weak, left to the trust in our bodies intricate designs to take us back to health.

What I learned tonight is simply that sometimes… you need a hug.
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Food for thought: Thank the health care providers you know. They do so much to help so many.