Anyone who works long shifts indoors knows that feeling when you finish work, open the door and feel the air on your face. Before last June the ward I work on had hardly any windows, those we had were covered up and as a unit where patients are nursed to protective isolation (to prevent and reduce infection) we've never had opening windows.
The effect on patients- some of whom are with us for many months- was huge. The distress it causes people not to be able to see the outside world and have natural light is extensive, which is why is some cultures it's used as torture.
My new premises have lovely huge windows and in some places we can see trees, it's a much better environment for patients but they still get distressed with the lack of contact with the world outside.
Knowing how good it feels to walk into the open air (even if it's into wind, rain and darkness like yesterday evening) after just 12 hours I can only imagine how it feels to a patient who's been nursed in protective isolation for 6 weeks.
God made us creatures who crave to be in his creation and experience his world but we don't always notice or appreciate it until being able to experience it is taken away from us. For me that's at the end of each shift.
Psalm 92:4
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment