Just found out that today is National Nurses Day. My life has been vastly improved by the love and care I’ve received in the hospital during difficult times. Gail Johnson in Waynesboro, for one, I must give special credit to her for making the hospital a far less scary place during my formative years in dealing with hemophilia.
 
That kind of mental shift cannot be discounted, and it certainly helped me later in life when HIV made trips to the hospital for lab work a necessity.
 
As an adult, I remember being in the hospital for some kind of dramatic event, and Gwenn was by my side. She noticed how calm and affable I was, despite a very stressful lead up to our visit. Well, it was because I’d been taught to feel safe in a hospital, thanks to nurses.
 
I know the last few months, there have been a lot of nurses who have been made to feel unsafe in their work environment, due to the challenges presented by Covid-19. And that really breaks my heart. I want to send a special shout out to those healthcare workers (and their loved ones) who have been having a rough time while doing their best to bring peace to those who are ill.
 
You are loved. You are appreciated. And we are all safer in our most difficult moments because of you.
Positively Yours,
Shawn