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PARASOL PUBS
All the Kindness in a Glass of Water
It doesn’t take much to help someone in pain
I walked out of the ICU, struggling to hold back my tears. I paused for a second to regain my composure as I stood alone in the hospital corridor. If there was ever a place on earth that accurately resembles purgatory, this must be it.
I felt dizzy. The tightening in my chest made it difficult to breathe, but I tried.
I grabbed onto the memory of this guided meditation I did every day since my mother’s condition became critical. Meditating somewhat soothed my anxiety while also giving me the impression of ‘doing something’. The hardest part, when someone you love is in a coma, is feeling so powerless.
Breathe in through the nose, and out through the mouth, I reminded myself as sobs cut through each of my inhales and exhales.
A nurse saw me and froze. It seemed my pain had taken priority over her current task — cleaning a food cart. She stared at me for a few seconds to assess the situation, while I, embarrassed but too exhausted to walk away, doubled my attempts to stop crying. No one likes to see a stranger break down, that much I knew.
“Miss, do you need anything?” she finally dared to ask.
