Courageous Nursing

Come sit with me…

Are you brave enough to sit with me as I grapple with this news?

Not fair...

Just let me...

How can this be?

Are you brave enough for that?

Come sit with me...

Are you perceptive enough to know that you are a safe place for me? I can be angry with you.

Not my children, they are too fragile.

Not my doctor, I may need to ask great things of my doctor.

Not my God, I'm not supposed to be angry with God, right?

Did you wear your No-Stick scrubs? Are you perceptive enough to know that because I feel safe with you, I can show my anger? Are you perceptive enough for that?

Come sit with me...

Are you passionate enough to take this fight to the next level? The doctor says, “no cure possible.”

Will you show me the fight may have changed from cure to care, but you will still fight alongside me?

Fight for quality if not quantity of life? Fight for the chance to find closure? Fight for my ability to finish this race with dignity?

Are you passionate enough for that?

Come sit with me...

Are you experienced enough to know how to keep nausea at bay?

Have you learned how to back pain into a corner long enough for me to smile for this last picture with my loved one?

Have you learned the nuances of battle to win one more skirmish and earn me one more “good day?”

Are you experienced enough for that?

Come sit with me...

Do you have the stamina to stay and comfort me through the long dark night when it is just you, me and this disease?

Can you stay with me and help me fight to find that place of peace?

Do you have the stamina for the fight?

Come sit with me...

Are you courageous enough to walk in when others run out? Can you bear witness to my life, my struggle, my fight?

Will your courage last until the end?

Can you hold my hand while I breathe my last breath?

Are you courageous enough for that?

Come sit with me...

Are you brave enough to start and finish this journey with me,

This journey that ends with my death?

Come sit with me...

Are you brave enough?

Carla A. Adams, MSN, RN, has worked mostly in oncology, with a special interest in caring for women with breast cancer. She served as a Palliative Care Champion and helped design a palliative care program for a 160-bed hospital.

“Come Sit With Me” was published in the July/September 2022 issue of the Journal of Christian Nursing.