| I made it up until the summer before sixth grade | | | | behavior, but the nurse laughed and shrugged, |
| without ever having to ride in an ambulance. I was | | | | saying that it was a normal response as someone |
| a clumsy kid, but my injuries mostly consisted of | | | | comes out of anesthesia. |
| scraped knees and bruised elbows. I sprained an | | | | The same nurse checked on me multiple times |
| ankle once when I was about five, but even that | | | | throughout the night, even after her shift ended |
| was only deemed worthy of a quick trip to a | | | | and she was permitted to go home. She brought |
| cheap doctor and a prescription of ice. | | | | me ice when I wasn't allowed to drink water, |
| One evening at the very beginning of my twelfth | | | | found extra pillows and blankets so that my mom |
| summer, my body decided it was about time I | | | | could spend the night on a couch next to me, and |
| was seriously hurt, and a broken bone seemed | | | | advised my mom about how she'd have to help |
| adequate enough. I was riding my bike about a | | | | me care for my broken arm after I was released |
| block away from my house when one of my | | | | from the hospital. |
| backpack straps looped down around the pedal, | | | | I don't even know the nurse's name. But she |
| flipping me over. | | | | helped my mom keep it together that night, and |
| I landed in deep grass, my limbs tangled around | | | | did everything in her power to try to make me |
| the bike. My cheeks burned as I imagined that | | | | more comfortable. I had wanted to get something |
| people were sitting in their living rooms watching | | | | small for her from the gift shop, a token of my |
| out the window through tilted shades, pointing and | | | | mom's and my thanks, but by the time we were |
| laughing at my misfortune. I tried to sit up, | | | | released from the hospital, she had gone home. |
| thinking I had only skinned my knee, but my left | | | | Many of us take nurses for granted. They devote |
| side refused to leave the ground. Confused, I | | | | their lives to helping the sick and injured, and very |
| glanced down at myself and saw my left arm | | | | rarely get the thanks they deserve. |
| twisted in a way that God didn't intend. | | | | If there is a special nurse in your life, why not |
| Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. | | | | send him/her a gift to show them how much |
| It didn't actually start hurting until about half an | | | | they are appreciated. My nurse was wearing a |
| hour later, when I was finally loaded into an | | | | special necklace one of her patients had made for |
| ambulance after some neighbors found me. | | | | her, but if you're not familiar with the art of |
| Because of the odd angle my arm was at, the | | | | jewelry-making, there are customizable necklaces |
| paramedic had chosen not to strap it down | | | | featuring the Nurse's Prayer or aspirin pendants |
| against the stretcher, fearing he might make it | | | | that would make a beautiful gift to any nurse. |
| worse. | | | | For a more light-hearted approach, a #1 Nurse |
| Instead, as the ambulance rounded a corner at | | | | keychain or shoe charms for their crocs would be |
| top speed, my arm fell off the stretcher. | | | | perfect. Decorative badge holders and cute nurse |
| That hurt. | | | | pens come in handy on a day-to-day basis. There |
| The doctor later told my parents that I had | | | | are also cookie bouquets specifically made for |
| broken my arm at the growth plate, one of the | | | | nurses, and they can be delivered to the hospital |
| worst possible places to break an arm. The bone | | | | so that your nurse can share his/her cookies with |
| had sliced through the nerves in my pinkie and | | | | other coworkers. |
| ring fingers. My arm would never grow normally | | | | I wish I had taken the time to find out that |
| again, and it would take years to regain any | | | | nurse's name; I would have sent her a thank-you |
| sensation in my fingers. | | | | coffee mug, or a gift candle (keep in mind, I was |
| As I was coming out of surgery that night, and | | | | on a 12-year-old's budget!). More than anything, I |
| the anesthesia started to wear off, my mother | | | | wanted to thank her in person for being so nice |
| was shocked to hear that I had snapped at a | | | | to me, even after I was so nasty to her after |
| nurse, and that I was being extremely cranky and | | | | my surgery! |
| difficult. My mom started to apologize for my | | | | |