Charlie's Nightmare

I was on duty
When they brought Charlie's daughter in

His wife was a wreck
Which was understandable

It was one of those quick viruses

One minute the kid is fine
The next minute
She's not breathing
And it's touch-and-go

I was there the night things got really bad
When they had to have the talk
About machines
And resuscitation
And it's moments like those
When I'm glad I'm a nurse and not a doctor
Because I wouldn't want to have those talks

An hour later, I went into Charlie's daughter's room
And he was sitting there
Holding her hand

A priest had come in earlier
To pray with them
But now it was quiet

Charlie's wife was knocked out
In a chair in the corner

One of the doctors
Had given her something
To calm her down

I asked Charlie if I could get him anything
And he said 'No, he was all right.'

Then he asked me if I'd ever had a child in the hospital before
And I told him my son had a heart problem
And that when he was first born
We'd only had him home a week
Before we had to rush him back again
For emergency surgery

'What did you do,' he asked

I said, 'I cried.  A lot.  I screamed.  I was angry.  You'd think being a nurse, I'd be calmer in those situations, but if anything, it was worse, because I knew the possible outcomes.  He got better after the surgery, and now he's fine, but at the time, it was a nightmare.'

'It sure is,' Charlie said

I pulled up a chair
And sat down next to him

'Just keep holding her hand,' I said, 'My son's in high school now, and a few months ago, his appendix nearly burst.  He was back in the hospital, and all I could do was hold his hand.  I still cried.  I still screamed.  I still acted like a maniac, but really, the only thing I could do for him was hold his hand and let him know somebody was there.  It's the same thing I did when his hand was the size of one of my fingers.  I just tried to let him know his mom was there, and that she loved him.  The hardest part is accepting that that's all you can do.'

I got up and let him be with his daughter

During the night
She pulled through it

And a week later
I got a 'thank you' card from Charlie

If  I'm being precise
It said--

'Thanks for not bullshitting me.'

If he had thanked me in person
I would have told him
That I was just trying to give somebody a little comfort
In the middle of their nightmare

That really
I was just doing my job