The Angel in the waiting room
The ICU waiting room became our home. Our family and friends filled the room day after day. We spent hours in this room.
We shared the room with strangers dealing with their own grief for a loved one in ICU. We did not know their names but we recognized them and came to know which patient they were visiting. On one particular day I was visiting with my sister and her family in the waiting room and was telling them what the doctor had told us that morning. He had said, "I’m sorry but the brain damage is very severe and we don’t see any positive outcome". I was crying and saying I am not giving up hope for a miracle. Then from across the room I heard a woman’s voice say "excuse me, I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard what you said the doctors told you". I looked at the woman and realized I had not seen her in the waiting room before. She walked over to me and put her hand on my cheek and said, "Don’t listen to what the doctors are saying. Listen to your heart. That’s what miracles are made from". Then she smiled at me and for a second I felt very warm. She left the waiting room and I never did see her again.