Notoriously Beautiful

10

Going to Work

(Monday morning)
I wake up bright and early. It's the big, first day at work. In New York I had to wake up at 6:00AM to be at work on time. So, that's the time I wake up at. One of the first things my mom did when we got here was buy a car. So I take it for it's first purposeful drive with me. It's mission is to take me safely to the hospital where I work. I get in, and I'm glad my mom bought an automatic, a lot of people here have a stick shift. Fifteen minutes of driving, and I'm here. It completed its mission.
The hospital looks the same, and smells the same as one in New York. The same bright, annoying artificial lights shine on me. There is a big difference though, the size. The hospital in Nizza di Sicilia is pretty big, but not as big as the one I had worked at before.
I go to the front desk and ask for the director of staff, I have already talked to him once. His name is Giovanni Manchi. The first time I met him he looked very strict, and serious. A force not to be reckoned with, but today, the first day of me working with him, per say he already seems to be less frightening.
I'm directed to a patient's room. Then I'm directing to another, and another. I check my watch, it's not there, I check my other wrist, there it is. I guess I've spent a while writing notes for the doctors on patient symptoms, giving patients IV, and giving a lot of people containers to puke in. There wasn't much action, but I like it better that way. When the hospital is calm that means it's people are healing. Nonna Katerina always said that to me when I decided I wanted to become a nurse.
She loved that I wanted to do that, it's an honorable job. It takes a lot of patience, and to be a good nurse, you have to be kind. Sick patients like to be treated kindly, and gently. They don't want to feel like they are trapped in a sterilized box, even if they are.
I don't know why I thought my job would be different here, Its not really. It's one of the only things that hasn't changed much. I love my job though, so I'm happy that it didn't change.
I took care of 22 people today, on my first day of work. How many people will I take care of until I retire? That's a big number. I work from 8:00am to 4:30pm, from Monday to Friday. On Saturday and Sunday I work from 8:00am to 2:00pm. I think it's a good amount of time. It's less time than when I worked in New York.
I realize that waking up so early was a waste of precious sleeping time. I could have literally woken up at 7:15am and I would have been to work 5 minutes early.
I used to work from 8:00am to 6:30pm. That was a little too long. My mom was sad when I could only see her at dinner time. I told her that eventually things would change, somehow. I didn't know at the time what kind of future I would make for myself. All I knew was that it was going to be full of joy. The only thing that I didn't account for was nonna's passing. She was supposed to be included in my future. I understand though, that she's in a better place, she definitely deserves to be. She was tired, and old but she was religious and patient.
Ever since I was young I loved watching medical shows, I wasn't frightened by the bloody scenes. I didn't wince when the doctors had to put needles into the patients. I thought it was so cool that they had the knowledge in their heads that could save a person's life.
"Hello, how are you," that's what I say to the patients as I walk in and put on a new pair of gloves.
That is ironic because that's naturally a polite thing to say to anyone, but when you're in a hospital, the nurses really want to know how their patients are doing.
I'm just so blessed that I can help people in ways that some people will never. I know I'm not a doctor, or a surgeon, but I did my schooling, and I graduated top of my class. I think I know a lot. I hope I do, my Nonna always wanted me to take care of her if she got sick. With my knowledge I could have, but time was something scarce. There just wasn't enough of it. I blame myself for my Nonna's death sometimes, but ultimately I know it was her time to pass. Sometimes I just think that my mom couldn't care for her as well as I could have, but I couldn't have stopped going to work to care for my Nonna. I had to support my mom and I, even with my moms pension, we couldn't live on that money in New York City, no way!
Whenever I think that it's my fault, I feel my Nonna telling me it's not. I feel it, I really do. I can't hear her, and I can't see her, but I feel her when I'm awake, and when I'm deciding what to do. When her soul was still on Earth, she always helped me decide on things, but she always told me, it's your decision.
I don't have many decisions to make as a nurse. Either the doctor tells me what I need to do, or I just do a normal routine based on pain and symptoms. That doesn't mean my job isn't important, someone has to do it. I pray every night for patients in the hospitals all around the world, because if you go to a hospital, that means you really don't feel good.
Some people are so kind even when they don't feel good. Sometimes I finally come to a patient who is grateful for all that I do. It's nice to hear it from them, but I know even if they don't thank me, that I am helping them.
My Nonna always said that the good we do that people do not recognize will be recognized by God. I believe that is true. I really do.