Holidays, hospital-style

One of the great things about working at a hospital is that everyone has this really bizarre sense of humor. And it comes out in full-force during the holidays. Take, for example, the Christmas present I received from a colleague who works in the morgue - the gift tag on the package was a toe-tag (unused, I presume). It actually said my name on the top line and under "date/time expired" it said, "Merry Christmas!" Now, I know this sounds morbid, but to me it's a better use of a toe-tag than what they are normally used for!

There are other examples, like the patient who makes all her visitors wear a jingle bell necklace and sing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" for her (at one point there were five of us in her room, singing in harmony, no less!), or the pediatric chaplain who wears a lit-up Christmas tree hat (the little red ornaments flash all over it!). And, of course, there are the edible treats from patients and families (I recieved a packet of "After the Last Supper Mints" with Da Vinci's Last Supper painting on the lid).

I guess the moral of the story is that there can be joy in the world, no matter how much life and circumstances may try to stop it. It's a beautiful thing to see a completely bald woman shaking her jingle bell and singing at the top of her lungs. A nurse recently told me that he chose to work on Christmas day because there is no place he'd rather be, no place that is more fun, that being with his patients and their families. "It's like the whole unit becomes a family - open doors, open hearts, everyone sharing with each other. It's what Christmas is really about!"

Joy to the World, indeed!