The Legacy We Leave

This week is National Nurses Week.

Yesterday I got an email from Mayo Clinic. I typically don’t click into their messages (because they are almost always asking me to donate money), but the subject line of this email said, “Honor Your Nurses” … so I clicked. It was asking people to write thank you notes to the nurses at Mayo, honoring them for all they do. They were hoping to get over 10,000 thank you letters! Of course, I happily sent one.

4+ years ago when I was undergoing cancer treatment at Mayo Clinic, I learned firsthand the vital role that nurses play. The nurses who took care of me were absolutely the most important people on my cancer journey (along with my truly amazing oncologist, but I didn’t see or interact with him directly nearly as much).

The nurses were there through the day-to-day of my treatment. While the doctors were in and out, rounding on multiple patients and focused on my chart, the nurses knew me and knew my story. They knew that I had a baby at home that I was aching to get back to, that I was the youngest and healthiest patient on the floor, and that I had a uniquely positive attitude towards my own healing. They honored that I wanted to make my treatment a Wellness journey rather than a Sickness journey (which is kind of tough to do in a hospital).

It was my favorite nurse, Jenna, who talked me through the process of shaving my head and got me a razor when I decided I was ready to do it (she even offered to shave it for me if I felt it was too hard!) It was the nurses who advocated for my early release during my inpatient stays so that I didn’t have to spend as many nights away from my baby. It was the nurses who made sure I could use the fridge on my hospital floor so that I could bring in the healthy food I wanted to be eating rather than the unhealthier food the hospital provided. It was the nurses who believed me when I told them what I knew was happening inside my body. It was the nurses who held my hand when I cried. It was the nurses who checked on me every few hours, who listened to my stories and told jokes and smiled and offered words of encouragement and answered any and all of my questions with kindness. They were the ones holding me down, keeping me grounded and hopeful. They were the only thing I looked forward to when I entered those hospital doors every 6 weeks. They were my beacons of light, and they are woven inextricably into the fabric of my life story. My gratitude for them is burned in my heart and mind forever.

I sometimes wonder if we leave as lasting an impression on the people who make such a big impact on our lives …

Does Jenna remember me? Or has she moved on to changing the lives of other cancer patients just as important as I was at the time?

What about the chemo nurses who administered my IV medications every 3 weeks? Do they remember?

In a medical system with a constantly rotating stream of patients, how much of a mark do any of us leave on the hearts and minds of our caregivers?

Maybe it’s not important that they remember … we each make an impact on the lives of the people we touch. We often don’t know how much. You could be etched in the memory of someone you had a passing conversation with one day, because the thing you intuitively said was exactly what they needed to hear in that moment and it changed their life.

We don’t always know the full extent of the legacy we leave behind. We just have to live our lives the best we can, showing up as fully as we can, being as present as we can, each and every day. And trust that we are making the impact we are meant to make. 

To all of those who have changed my life in ways you may not even know, thank you. I am who I am because of you. Your life and your work have made a difference. I am so grateful.

And hey, if you know any nurses, thank them today. They are truly the angels of the medical system. To all the nurses in my life ­– thank you, I see you, I love you.