Brighten Your Day

In April 2014 I had a major surgery, a hysterectomy. The day after the operation the catheters were removed and the nurse told me that I had to get out of bed and walk a little. I felt very tired and every movement caused me a lot of pain, especially the sharp pinching sensation of the surgical staples on my abdomen was very uncomfortable. However, even with the pain and discomfort I could get up and I just managed to sit on a chair by the bed. I was short of breath and the pain worsened after the great effort I made.

While I was there I was dreading that I had to get up and walk a little when an old lady came into the ward and she walked directly towards me. She looked around 80 years old; she was walking with a slow- to medium-paced speed. Her hair was completely white and very well combed, her pale face glowed more in contrast to the bright, red and long coat she wore, and I could see that under her coat she was wearing a hospital gown.

She approached to me and said "you are very pretty", her kind comment took me by surprise as in that moments the least I believed is that I looked pretty. However I replied "thank you very much, you are a very kind lady". Immediately she took my hand and said "I am going to pray for you", and a very warm and comforting sensation invaded me. I really needed it those words in those moments; I needed someone to comfort me and to make me feel that despite how I felt everything was going to be okay. This completely strange lady came to me and made feel safe and loved.

I thanked her kindness and I asked her name. "My name is Pat" she replied, “and I am in the next ward” she added, and then she left, leaving me a bit confused but feeling much better and I even forgot the pain for a little while.

The next two days that I was in the hospital I was able to move a little bit more and even I felt very uncomfortable and pained I got to walk several times to the bathrooms and every time I passed in front of the next door ward I looked for her but could not see her or her bright red coat.

Finally the day came when I had to leave the hospital, I never saw Pat again but that special and brief moment I met her, remains in my mind and my heart. Sometimes I think that maybe God sent one of his angels to comfort me or maybe she was just a human being like me but somehow God made her come to comfort me at that very moment when I needed it most.