DEAR DOCTOR, DEAR NURSE, THANK YOU. LIKE FOR REALS
Nathan Chapman Photography
Today is International Women’s Day. And so today, I want to celebrate you. Your expertise, your beauty, your strength. And I will celebrate you today and everyday, for the rest of my life because I want to say thank you, like for reals.
For the record, I know there are many male nurses and male doctors in the field of medicine (one in my own family) and I am in no way discounting them. I never would. I honor you all. But today on International women’s day, I want to thank my female nurses and my female doctor that saw me through the most important days of my life, becoming a mother.
Just days ago, you, our pediatric female nurse took stitches out of my 19 month old’s fore head and you did it with such tenderness, ease and heart. I appreciate you so much, especially when I've called you 11 times in 9 days regarding a bloody forehead, an up all night cough, and 3 snotty nosed fevered kiddos. You answered every call. Always. To a mother, that's everything. So thank you.
Women have always been my heart. My mother raised me right. Taught me the importance of the female warrior. There is no one stronger that I’ve met in this lifetime than her. And she always told me that the women in your life will grow more and more important as you grow older. All the women. Well, she was right.
As a child, my pediatrician was a woman. My first “lady doc” was a female nurse practitioner. I’ll never forget being frightened of the whole "someone checking out my lady parts" and making sure everything was ok. But I never felt more at ease or more comforted by that woman. And when my sister graduated from medical school and became an obstetrician and gynecologist, I was like, damn, she’s like the whole enchilada and knows everything I’ll ever need to know about the female anatomy. And I was right. Sissy, even though you're not my legal "doctor", you are in fact my doctor in every way. Literally, every way. She even calls my friends too and walks them through their lady questions. How lucky am I?
And when I moved to Nashville, Tennessee from Los Angeles a decade ago, I found a female doctor that I could trust and that fit me and my needs. And let me tell you, when you meet a female Doctor who is knowledgable and trusting and puts you at ease regarding every scenario you could ever imagine, you love them and you celebrate them.
I'll never forget the day you told me I would most likely be having a c-section due to my stubborn little girl who refused to move out of the breech position. I fell apart. I was born to have this baby out of my lady parts. I was a puddle of tears. And you looked at me and said "Everything is going to be fine. I do this all the time. It's going to be great. Can't wait to meet your little girl." You calmed me. My heart was ok. And despite even further efforts, we did in fact have a c-section, and hands down, it was the greatest day of my life.
And I'll will never forget the day we talked about me wanting more babies and I told you that he didn't want more and we probably wouldn't, and you looked at me dead pan and said "You're going to have another baby I just know it." It was like a movie. My eyes filled up with tears but I tried to play it cool. I really wasn't sure if that day would come.
And then they came. The day I found out and I was white as a ghost in utter shock at the surprise I was pregnant with identical twins. You said "Are you ok?" We laughed, I cried. And I never looked back. And today on international women's day, almost 6 years later, you've been there for it all. I mean, you delivered my babies to the world. My children. You were there when I became a mother. I am so grateful it hurts.
Nathan Chapman Photography
Nathan Chapman Photography
And to this sweet nurse and your whole team, God freaking bless you. I honestly don't know how you do what you do. It's astounding. It's disgusting a lot of the time. And you kept smiling. Kept checking on me. Kept walking me to the bathroom. You were always there, at the press of a button. You cared for me in ways I'll never even know how you did. And my babies? Well, let's just say, not only did you teach me how to clean them, wrap them, nurse them, change them, you took them for a few hours and let us sleep. I mean, you are in fact angels that walk the earth. And I celebrate you today, yesterday and for the rest of my life.
Women have come a long way since the olden days when ya know we couldn't even vote and stuff. We now can like, be doctors and nurses. And run for president. We can be mothers and work outside the home part time. Or full time. Or from home. We can raise good humans by being by their sides every day. We can climb mountains. We can fall, and we can get back up again. And personally, today on international women's day, I'm reminded that I'm raising a daughter and I'm teaching her that with faith, hope, love and hard work, anything is possible. So to my female doctor, my female nurses, and to my girls everywhere near and far, today I celebrate you. I inspire to be inspired by you, and I promise to do my part to continue to change this world for the better, mother to mother, woman to woman, for you, for me, for all our daughters. (insert hope- filled teary eyes.)
