STAMFORD NURSES ARE ANGELS IN WHITE--THE NURSES OF THE STAMFORD DEPT OF HEALTH

It's been several times now that I've seen the "Nurse Angels in White--the Nurses of the Stamford Dept of Health"--in action at various H1N1 (Swine) Flu Vaccination Clinics. Yesterday's was at UConn at the Stamford Campus and I was on 'lollipop' patrol. I certainly had the 'light-weight' and easy job and my main contribution was probably just staying out of the way as best as I could. We had so many people and over the course of five hours, these Angels in White ministered to persons of all ages and with all sorts of conditions.

I've had experience with healthcare professionals before and with nurses before and I've had nurses in my family. My Aunt Clotilde Kaluta http://www.kaluta.com/pages/misc/mom.html served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II. My mother-in-law Margaret Sexton was a nurse in New York City and had experience with every sort of patient disease, including leprosy and other conditions one would expect to see only in third world countries. My late stepdaughter Kathryn Lombardo was OB-GYN Charge nurse at Stamford Hospital, who had to deal even with death and deformity in a setting better known for it's bringing forth of new life. One cannot have life without death, and vice versa, of course and each story of nursing necessarily has it's own cavalcade of defeat and triumph, and of desperation and inspiration. Presentations and outcomes may change, but unerring responsibility and ever-needed vigilance are a nurse's constant companion along with every patient. It's not an 'easy' job, ever.

So it was yesterday. In hot and cramped rooms, Stamford's Nurse Angels in White questioned, stroked, held, innoculated, wiped, joked with, soothed, bandaged, assured and, as I said, above, 'ministered' to hundreds and hundreds of people who came through the lines to either receive the H1N1 injectable or H1N1 intranasal flu vaccine. These Angels wiped away tears as adeptly as they wiped away new parents concerns about their infants' health. They treated the elderly with tenderness and compassion, even amidst screaming children and impatient adults. These angels sweated and toiled and went above and beyond what was required of them, to see that each and every person was seen to, and vaccinated. Observing what I observed, I don't know how they do it. I just don't.

But these Stamford Health Dept persevere and work willingly in the face of all sorts of unknowns, including potentially contagious and very contagious illnesses. It's brave work, and not for everyone and certainly not for the squeemish, fearful or undedicated, this public service nursing. It amazes me.

Anyway, yesterday was a day to remind us of the goodness humankind is capable of, with these nurses on the forefront. With the likes of these ministering during what the world calls the 'H1N1 Pandemic', I am assured that no matter what may come, we are in the best of hands....In the hands of these White-Coated Stamford Angels. God Bless them all. We can't thank them enough and UConn, also, for this life-saving clinic.
With Love, Reverend Barbara Sexton January 8, 2010