In memory of the ones we couldn't save
Note : I wrote this a few years ago but it never made it to my blog. It's a long time (12 years) since I worked in the ER but some patients have stayed with me. Maybe all of the sad things are melded into this one memory, this one little boy. This child didn't get a chance to make his mark in the world. This child, and many others who suffer by those who should protect them. Unfortunately child abuse is still all too common. I looked up from my stationary bike at the gym and noticed a woman in a squatting position, her back leaning against the wall - an exercise meant to strengthen one’s core, hamstrings and quads. I remember hating this exercise in gym class in high school. Watching her, I had a flashback to an incident that happened somewhere in the early 80’s during a shift I was working as a pediatric ER nurse. This memory came to me so clearly that I almost felt panicky as I began to pedal faster on the bike. I felt cold and hot and like I couldn’t breath as