Love In Action December 4, 2014 – Posted in: Confidence, Personal Development, Relationships, Spirituality – Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

On Sunday, my seven-year-old daughter, Eva, decided to, “test whether what mummy says about things being dangerous is true or not,” by putting her hand on top of the wood burner. It had been on for an hour and she badly burnt her hand.

In hindsight, I could write about how interesting it is to me that my first reaction was anger, “What did you do that for?” followed quickly by fear and compassion for my little one because, of course, fear and anger are the same emotion dressed up differently. I could also write about the natural curiosity (and minxiness) of children) or the outpouring of love and concern showed by Eva’s sisters who had only 2-minutes before been screaming at her over something. But, actually what I want to write about, what I have been left with, is an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards the NHS staff who treated my child.

I have always loved the NHS and I get horribly riled when I see negativity about an institution that has rescued me and members of my family on countless occasions. I accept that certain individuals and systems within the NHS are flawed (what organisation is exempt from this?) and, of course, improvements can always be made, BUT, my goodness we are so fortunate to be served by these people who work long, unsociable hours to restore us to health.

The kindness and compassion showed to Eva on Sunday at the RUH in Bath (and again at Bristol Children’s Hospital on Monday) was overflowing. From the brightly coloured walls and artwork to the smiley nurses and doctors (all of whom introduced themselves to Eva by their first names) to the beds that go up and down and the balloons and the stickers and Wallace (of Wallace and Grommit fame) doing a voiceover in the lift… It was clear that MANY people had spent A LOT of time considering how a child would like to feel in hospital and had then gone out of their way to put this into action.

I’m aware that positivity begets positivity and this has been evidenced this weekend. The opposite is also true. So, let’s all this Christmas be GRATEFUL to and thankful for all those who serve us in jobs most of us would really rather not do: nurses, doctors, porters, admin staff, cleaners, radiographers, physiotherapists, firemen and women, police officers, soldiers, social workers, street cleaners – I could go on. Thank you all.

And, particular thanks from Eva and I to our local NHS staff for showing such incredible love in action to her this weekend. Her hand is on the mend and she’s learnt that mummies say ‘no’ for a reason…

Jo

This blog post first appeared as an article in my Life Column in The Bath Magazine.

« Pre-Christmas De-Stress
Relationship Coaching »