Hierarchy

There is an unwritten hierarchy that exists here in the hospital, on the outdoor patio, in the recreation area, in the hallways, on the elevators.

Its as if royalty has arrived.  The pathway clears, people stand aside, offer their chairs, their shade, their plug in the wall for the IV pole to be connected. 

An aura of reverence and respect takes over, with a slight bow of everyone’s head, a hushed silence, nervous energy building.

But its not the nurses, or nurse practitioners, who have arrived.  Its not the doctors or surgeons that are causing such a stir.  It’s a child, hooked up to lifesaving IVs, and their parent with exhausted eyes. 

They are the absolute top of this unnatural pyramid-  the most feared; the most revered.  All of us would do anything we could to help at that moment, to offer comfort and care, but there’s so little we can do. 

Or is there?

AUDIO