Love. It's such a weird word, and it is connected and associated with many. Empathy, compassion, good nature, whole heartedness and the list goes on. It's extraordinary how one small act of love and kindness can undo the very buttons of your soul and let all the bad out. Even though the hospital is place that harbours sad times, times everyone wishes they didn't have to see, it is also a place of love. You can see it when the nurses give so much of their time to their patients, or when the patients families come into visit.
There is this one nurse who I worked with quite frequently, and she warned me about love. Even though love is thought to be positive and good, it can be dangerous too. She explained to me how she has to put up walls when working with patients because the reality is, people are sick and dying. You can never get attached because you'll end up hurting yourself in the end. It's very easy to attached to a patient you're working with. The nurse told me about a situation she had been in. There was a little boy whom she worked with through another job that she had. The boy was severely disabled in appearance, but mentally he was fine. She would often go to his school and give him his check up and what not, and see to him. The nurse ended up getting too attached and got very upset when she saw children bullying him. The nurse ended up quitting her job with him because it wasn't good for her anymore.
The thing about love is that it can either make our day, or break it. When working with sick people, love isn't really a good thing. It's quite confusing to be honest. To be a nurse, you are supposed to be loving, caring and all sorts of things like that, but if you love too much, it's no good. It's the same with families, love is the reason they cry and cry and cry sitting with their loved ones in the hospital. So which is it? Is love good, or is it bad? Throughout my entire time at the hospital, it's been one of those things I've never been able to figure out. I've asked myself time after time as I observe these situations why it keeps happening. When we know love will hurt us in the end, why do we? Why do we love? I don't think I'll ever be able to understand. It's just one of those human things that is both magical, and tragic. Love grows within us, whether we like it to or not.