Comments on pilgrimsteps: Just a bit late...

Beautifully written, Jana. Thanks for leading me h...

2008-08-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Beautifully written, Jana. Thanks for leading me here. I, too, had many incredible encounters with kindness and courage in the hospital, but your story of the Vietnamese singer is particularly poignant.

In addition to being scary and awful and all, I've...

2008-05-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

In addition to being scary and awful and all, I've found hospitals often house surprisingly touching encounters like yours with the cookie woman and the singer. I suppose that's to be expected when life dramas play out all around, but it's still surprising.

A lovely story, Jana. And an important point, I think, that in the end so me attempts at connection or kindness are a hit and others a miss.

I hope the leg heals and heals well.

It's no fun being in hospitals. Even a well intent...

2008-05-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

It's no fun being in hospitals. Even a well intentioned health care worker can't remember to have a decent bedside manner all the time. Get well soon and keep up with the cookie therapy.

I'm just so glad you are home and on the mend . . ...

2008-05-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

I'm just so glad you are home and on the mend . . .

i'm so sorry you were alone and in pain and afraid...

2008-05-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

i'm so sorry you were alone and in pain and afraid in a hospital jana. reading this, i cried, wishing you didn't have to experience that. but i'm glad there were kind people near you. and that you have such a wonderful family to care for you and love you--that you're home with them now, being loved. and of course there's your darling kitties (elly made my acquaintance by sniffing my nose on friday; made me smile).

please let me know if there's anything more i can do to help.

I hope things get better for you soon, hang in the...

2008-05-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

I hope things get better for you soon, hang in there

The cookie lady story is one of the sweetest I've ...

2008-05-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

The cookie lady story is one of the sweetest I've heard in a while.

As for the nurse who refused to call the MD just because it was night, she was wrong. It's your right to have your pain treated. Sorry you went through that. Next time be assured you have the right to tell her she needs to call the doctor and ask for something for your pain. If the doc refuses, well that's different.

Wassail! Sue, RN

So glad you're home from the hospital, Jana. Do le...

2008-05-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

So glad you're home from the hospital, Jana. Do let me know if I can do something for you! Are you up for visitors?

I hope you're doing okay. I'd just like to say th...

2008-05-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

I hope you're doing okay. I'd just like to say that you're clearly a brilliant person, which is not something to sneeze at. I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I've contemplated having various disabilities (mostly trying to determine how hard it would be to contintue reading blogs -- there's my priorities for you... ;^) ), and I conclude that just being alive and able to take in information about the world and contemplate it is such a fantastic and priceless thing...

Oh, how this brought back memories. I'll only tel...

2008-05-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

Oh, how this brought back memories. I'll only tell you one, though.

A couple of years ago, I slashed open the back of my pinky finger while working at Whole Foods when I was cleaning up some broken glass in about as idiotic a manner as can be imagined. I bled and bled, and it was 9:00 p.m. when my shift ended, so my true love insisted I go to the ER for stitches and a tetanus shot.

The last time I had been to this ER had been a few years before, a week after I had injured my right leg, the beginning of the chain of events that led to its amputation.

This particular night, it was cold enough that I was wearing long pants, so my artificial leg wasn't obvious. And you know what the first jokey little thing the ER doctor said to me upon examining my finger was?

Oh, yes. "Well, I don't think we're going to have to cut it off." And then he kind of chortled.

"Oh good," I replied quite seriously. And then I watched him blanch while I lifted my pant leg to silently show him my prosthetic ankle.

I am so sorry for your night of fear, but I am so grateful to Cookie Woman for her kindness to you.

And I'm really, really glad you're home now.

Your narrative is both a good story and an importa...

2008-05-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Your narrative is both a good story and an important one. The dearest person in my life suffers from a disability, and I cringe whenever it is brought up because I might take on some unintended emotional baggage. Thanks for showing a resolution and reminding me to show the same kindness to others.

Even though we don't really know each other, I have been keeping you in my thoughts and prayers through all of this.

Oh--and those frustrating hospital phones! Why?

2008-05-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Oh--and those frustrating hospital phones! Why?

This is really lovely, Jana. It's not about follo...

2008-05-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is really lovely, Jana. It's not about following a list of steps and a script, it's about making genuine human connections. That goes for medical folks, school staff, friends and family...

I hope you're doing better now.