A nurse who worked in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of a large hospital had certain obligations during her shift.

She had to administer to each patient the medication prescribed by the medical team, help with the daily hygiene and provide food most of the time through a catheter.

For those who have had the opportunity to be in an ICU as a patient or visiting a loved one know how this is a delicate environment.

They are places where the priority is to sustain life. As its name implies, intensive care, where everything is being done for the patient to overcome his health problem and have his life preserved.

Let us pay special respect to projects being implemented in ICUs at some hospitals, where there have been attempts to increasingly humanize this work environment.

This nurse delivered the tasks assigned to her with great responsibility. However, she went beyond her duties.

Every day she would start her shift going to each bed and greeting every patient. She would tell the patients what day of the week and month it was as she knew that many of them lost track of time. She would also tell patients about the weather outside.

The most interesting is that some of them were unconscious. For her, it made no difference.

Each time she went next to the beds she would carefully put away the sheets covering their body. She thought that if they were conscious, they would feel exposed.

She cared to assist in moving and changing the patients's position to provide relief to the tired body in bed.

When she had some extra time she would choose a patient and tells him stories of daily life and would listen to their stories too. She knew that the visiting time was brief and would not make up for the absence of the loved ones.

One day there was a man hospitalized in serious condition. It was a lawyer, who was beloved by his family, as she had noticed during visits.

The medical team, realizing the rapid worsening of his health, asked the family to quickly come to the hospital. His health situation was irreversible and he had only a few hours of life.

It was past seven o´clock in the evening and that nurse had finished her shift. She was getting ready to go home since her co-worker for the next shift was already there.

She noticed that the lawyer's family had not arrived and he was almost unconscious, his breathing very shallow.

And so she cleaned her hands appropriately and went to his bed.

She held his hand and told him: It's me, your nurse, I'm with you, rest assured, let's make a prayer.

She began to utter words of thankfulness for life and asked God for His messengers to be there with open arms to receive the brother that was about to depart.

After the prayer, the cardiac alarm sounded indicating that in that body there was no more life. The nurse wiped her tears, wishing that soul to depart in peace.

Soon after, the family arrived. Not in time to say goodbye. But they had the consolation of knowing that at the time of departure, the husband and father was not alone. He had been accompanied by a kind nurse.

*   *   *

This example can inspire us to try to do more than our duty without expecting a reward.

Let´s do our job, whatever it is, and make our lives an act of love for others.

Spiritist Moment Team.

June 27.2011.