the window

As an  ER nurse, everyday you see human suffering.  Sounds dramatic doesn't it, human suffering?  But its the truth.  You have a window into so many peoples lives who are going through bad stuff. People are living with illnesses that are mad worse by stress.

They have a chronic illness that just happened to them.  They didn't do anything wrong.  Now they lost their job, the insurance runs out at the end of the month.  Who will take care of them? How will they get their medication?. Hopefully they will be able to afford health care under the new system.  Meanwhile all this stress exacerbates their illness.

Then there is the person who has just been diagnosed with an illness and they wonder how it will affect their life. They are young. Will they be able to keep working?  What does their future look like?

Their are families whose loved ones are dying and they aren't ready to face it yet.  They are angry, ready to blame someone else. You have deal with them too.  

There's mom and dad bringing in teenage son who is addicted to heroin.  This wasn't supposed to happen to their family.  They live in the suburbs.  He had everything.  Yet here they are, not knowing what to do, scared out of their minds, wanting some, any kind of help.  In the end we will only offer numbers and names and send them on their way.

I am left to wonder what I would be like in these situations.