Two observations

The job I hold at Harrisburg Hospital (Patient transporter) allows me to meet a myriad of interesting people of all kinds of backgrounds and such, however, my observations do not concern their backgrounds, but their willpower as humans in a bleak and dreary atmosphere.

One person I had to move today was in the ICU for reasons I was unaware of (as a transporter, there is no need for me to know reason for admission to the hospital). For those of you who don't know, ICU stands for Intensive Care Unit, and patients admitted there are on extremely careful and meticulous care in order to be kept alive, and this gentleman in particular was under extreme medical attention. The look in his eyes when I entered his room only registered a dead emotion, nearly a lack thereof. I couldn't even tell if the man was aware of our presence there or that we were even moving him. He was on a respirator, oxygen, and a host of other medical devices meant to keep alive. This man was helpless, and he was barely 40. The thought of being 40 and on intensive care disturbed me. What would happen to this man? What chance did he even have at living again? The helpless look in his eyes gave me a certain amount of animosity, in a way. Why wasn't he trying to live? Didn't he care? Did he even deserve to be in this hospital on all the life support he needed if he was only going to waste away? What was the point, anyway?

However, one other patient changed my outlook on the first one. He was an amputee whom I had to take down for X-ray. When I saw he was missing a leg, I offered to get a nurse so I would have assistance getting him onto the stretcher. He dismissed my offer and told me to move the stretcher adjacent to the bed. I did so and placed the brake on. All he needed from me was the help to sit up. From there, he moved to the edge of the bed, stood on his good leg and pivoted around, sitting down on the litter. This nearly shocked me, as any other patient in the hospital would have probably groaned about having to be moved at all. This man, however, actually moved into the stretcher on his own and got himself situated without any assistance at all. My amazement with this man still stays with me. Even in a situation where there would seem to be no point, a man can make do with what he has and do his best.

My opinion on the first man was altered. Perhaps the look in his eyes was not dead, just distant. The fact that his heart was still beating should have been sign enough to me that he still had the will to live, and our assistance was desperately needed to make that hope be true. Maybe he couldn't move. Maybe he was incoherent in the eyes of the doctors and nurses who tended to him. One thing I know for certain, however, is that while a man still has blood in his veins and his heart remains to beat, he has will. I witnessed what I thought was true helplessness today, but now I see that there is no such thing. No one is helpless as long as the desire to live exists. To deprive a human being of such a desire is abominable and atrocious. Life is so precious, and to come to the aid of the desire and will to live is honorable in the greatest respect.

These two men have taught me this truth. Now, I teach it to you. Honor life.



Uphold it.