“Knowing that my care, touch, voice, and time can help a patient make it through the night is one of the most rewarding feelings. Being with people at what is sometimes the worst moments of their lives is a privilege I take very seriously. One of the most profound moments in my nursing career was caring for a woman post-stroke. She was left side flaccid, very depressed, and not adjusting to her new normal. She would not participate in therapies.
I sat, held her hand, and spoke with her as she remained silent. I told her gently that she couldn’t go back, and she had a choice to stay stuck where she was, mind and spirit, or move with intention forward and learn how to use her new body in new and different ways.
She and her husband apparently sought me out for weeks after she finished rehab—and they finally showed up one day again when I was working.
“Watch this,” her husband said.
She was so incredibly proud to show me that she could move her left hand's fingers, something she could not do when I was caring for her right after the stroke.
They both thanked me for my love, care, and words; it was the spark of love and life out of the depths of darkness that they both were searching for.
Everyone, including me, was in tears. Joy.”
-Dipti
Dipti was trained on employability skills and patient care under Smile Foundation’s Smile Twin e-learning Programme (STeP). She is now a GDA healthcare worker at a Super Speciality Hospital in Kolkata.