On Leave!

@Abu Dhabi International Airport. 03 May 2012.

Just a quick note!

I am on leave until about the end of the month, so pardon that I’ll be away from the blogosphere for a while. I’ll be back with lots of pics and stories to tell… promise!

Weekly Photo Challenge: SUN

Burj Khalifa is the tallest building on earth. The sun is the brightest thing in the solar system.

Dubai. April 2012.

The Package

It seemed like an ordinary morning. I came to work early as usual. I placed my bag in my locker. I stuffed my pockets with all the ammunitions I need in the warzone – stethoscope, penlight, markers, alcohol swabs.

I went on to take the morning hand-over. I quickly browsed the computer system to check what my patients would be needing for the shift, and that actually means checking what kind of life I would be having for the next 12 hours. Well, it seemed like another busy day. I started planning inside my head. The tasks started to run wild inside my brains.

I was at this state when a colleague approached me. “Hey, you got a package in the fridge!”

“I do? Okay, I’ll check that now. Thanks.” And so I quickly went to the coffeeroom where our packages and mails are placed. I usually get stuff from the mail, but most of them work-related, like memos and education packs. But hey, did I hear him say “fridge?” Why did they put my package in the fridge?

As I opened the fridge, I found this brown box with a blue card with my name on it.

 I opened the box and found colorful cupcakes.

My colleague told me that the box came from a patient who dropped by with his family. He described how the patient looked like, and I started remembering who that patient was.

That patient had a tracheostomy done (a surgical opening on the throat). He couldn’t talk because of his surgery so we communicated by writing on  a piece of paper. He has been discharged many days back.

And here he is trying to communicate again by writing.

And his unspoken words meant so much.

They didn’t only mean that he appreciated the kind of care he had when he was under my care. They didn’t only mean that he was happy with how his surgery went.

For me, it also meant that what I have done for him has made him go back to the community to live again. It also meant that whatever I do for my patients, his family benefit too. It meant that all my hardwork don’t go unnoticed – that even patients who are unable to verbalize their feelings, know how to appreciate. It meant that “caring” does not only mean trying to complete all the tasks I have for the day, but it meant “touching somebody else’s life.”

I have read the message beyond the words. It meant that I should be proud of what I do as a nurse.

Thank you for reminding me that.

Weekly Photo Challenge: JOURNEY

In this journey called life, we should focus on each precious moments, rather than looking toward the future. Joy does not only come at the end of the road. It can be available now.

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. (Greg Anderson)

It may be when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. (Wendell Berry) 

 It has never been, and never will be easy work! But the road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination. (Marion Zimmer Bradley)

I believe that life is a journey, often difficult and sometimes incredibly cruel, but we are well equipped for it if only we tap into our talents and gifts and allow them to blossom. (Les Brown)

 It is better to travel well than to arrive. (Buddha)

 We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. (Stephen Covey)

The journey between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place. (Barbara DeAngelis)

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: ARRANGED

It’s my day off! I’m used to getting up early so I decided to prepare our breakfast.

And so while waiting for my small family to wake up, I decided to take some shots. I remembered this week’s theme for the photo challenge

scrambled egg with chicken frank sausages

buttered pancakes

french toasts

regular loaf bread

beef bacon

fruit slices

Table is ready

Now, it’s time to wake the guys up

Have a great day ahead, everyone!