A Day of grace at the pain clinic

After all these years of going to my pain doctor for injections to give me some temporary relief from Pain, its like almost doing it in my sleep. Signing in, completing all the required paperwork, taking a blue-and-pink marker to draw where my Pain is, then where numbness has settled and will not go away...well, it's amazing how fast I fly through the papers. I do have time to look around the room to see all the other people there, waiting for their turn to go in for relief. And it never fails that I will see somebody in a condition that catches my breath. Then I ache for the suffering they must be going through.

It's rare for me to be shocked during my visits to the Pain Clinic because I always come away with memories of somebody else hurting. To be honest, with the medication given to help ease the injections, there are many things that I just forget. So how in the world would I begin to think this visit would be one that feels as if it were sent from Above? There is always a nurse who is there to welcome you, lead you to the holding area where you quickly hop into a hospital gown and get settled on a stretcher. She is the one who gets all the vital information from you. Many of these nurses are very familiar to me–this pain clinic is almost like going to a Family Reunion. Even people in the surgery room greet me with "Hey, Martha, ready for relief?"  

But this day proved to be like no other as my nurse greeted me with a beautiful smile. I could tell she was from another country. Her homeland was Vietnam, and she went by the name "Then Hu" with a fast apology if I didn't understand her words. I found myself wanting to know everything possible about this young woman. She appeared to be in her late 20s. While we shared light conversation, I asked how long she had been in the U.S. and how it compared to her homeland.

She paused for a while and said, "Oh, it's a long story. Too long to tell today." The she started doing her regular nursing duties, like getting my vitals and taking my blood pressure. I dared to push again as I begged her to share with me! For whatever reason, I could not take my eyes away from this beautiful woman, and my heart felt as it were telling me "Listen attentively, there is much to hear today" And so her story began.

"Well, I will try to make it short for you. I came here to the U.S. when I was only 12 years old. My family escaped from Vietnam after my father was let out of a prison camp. We traveled in a boat with so many people, and for three days we had no food, no water. I thought we would all die. My parents kept comforting me, and we prayed constantly. Suddenly, on the fourth day, a huge boat appeared and took us in. They could see that if we were not rescued, everyone would die."  

My mind was numb, trying to imagine what she had gone through, being out in the middle of the ocean, nothing to eat or drink and fearing death was just around the corner. All the time she spoke to me, her smile was constant. I dared to ask, "Was it difficult to leave your homeland?" Again a pause and she said, "If we had not escaped, I would not be here today, as so many people were being killed in my homeland. When we reached the U.S., it felt like heaven and that's when my fears started to go away. But it was not easy when we first got here as we had no money. My Father worked many jobs, and I began working at the age of 14 so that I could help my family have food."

There has never been a time in my life when I had to worry about the lack of food, and my heart broke as I thought about this child, now at 14, having already gone through the fear of no food, stepping up to help her family and work. She said there were times when she had four or five jobs, and all the money went to the family. I wanted to offer words of comfort to her as she told me, "It's okay. Yes, it was so hard, but my family was all together and that meant everything to us. I got to work by riding a bicycle and did not own a car until I reached the age of 24! Can you imagine that?" No, my heart was silent as I knew there were no words to say I understood all this woman was telling me. For whatever reason, I hungered for more from her and asked, "So why did you want to be a nurse?" Again that smile."Oh, that was easy. I saw people in my homeland who needed medical help and never got it. Being a nurse gives me the chance to help people, just like you, who are in Pain and need someone to care about them!"  

Then I knew this woman was a special blessing being sent to me on this day. I thanked God for the courage to ask for her story, and I thanked her over and over for sharing with me. I knew our time was running short now as my time was coming up to be taken back to the surgery room. So I asked her if she was married. Again a pause, and she said, "I am 42 years old. Nobody wants a woman that age. Yes, sometimes I wish it could happen, but God has blessed me with this work, and I am still able to keep giving money to my family and helping them. So if it happens, that's up to God." Such a peaceful acceptance this woman had in her heart! As they rolled me away, I could hear her words, "I hope you feel better, God bless!"

On the way home, I tried to share this amazing day with my husband, but the medication was still affecting me so my words didn't make a lot of sense. Later that evening, I was able to tell him about my special nurse, and he was stunned to hear her story. He agreed as we both said, "It's so important that we count our blessings." And we did. I went there to get relief from my physical pain and came away with my heart filled with grace, having been blessed to meet Then Hu and learning of her amazing journey.

This was my Joy for the day, and it will stay with me forever.