HOPE

The universe has conspired this week to bring wonderful and inspiring people into my life! It was a very busy week at work, lots of 12hr shifts one after another and very tiring. But I met many people who I admire for different reasons.

The young woman who went blind in one eye due to a disease beyond her control. Her spirit and humor made my day and it touched my heart to hear that she and her husband after 15 heartbreaking years of infertility are travelling to China in December to bring back their adopted baby girl.

The Son who vigilantly sits by his demented mother's side all day, every day, even on the weekends because "I only have one mother, and we take care of each other". Even though she is quite demented she has a lovely quality about her, and smiles widely and winks at me each time I'm with her. She was an artist and lived in France when younger for a while studying art and life! She still has good memories to share. She still has the will to live, largely thanks to her son I'm sure, and is slowly recovering. Her son made the difficult decision to keep her at home and hire a 24hr carer rather than put her in a nursing home.

The little old Italian "Nonni" who refers to me all the time as her "beautiful nurse". She doesn't speak much english, (although she swears in English that would make a sailor blush!). Her 2 daughters and one of her sisters passed away from breast cancer within the last 4yrs. She has been battling the same disease for years too, and now it has spread to her lungs. She will not recover and her granddaughter easily tears up at the thought of having to watch her Nonni die like her mother did. But the family support is phenomenal, and Nonni just found out she will have another great grandchild coming into her life in 9 months time. She still has a twinkle in her eye...she is inspiring.

It's difficult to know what to say when people ask how long they will live or when they might die, if they will ever get their eyesight back or lose it completely, or if they should put their elderly parent in a nursing home. They are questions I cannot truthfully answer. It's a fine balance between keeping some hope alive and being realistic! And this week, these people have kept MY hope alive!