Maria Walker - Curing More Than Health

December 14, 2004 was the worst day of my life.  That was the day I was admitted to the emergency room of a local hospital due to a deadly combination of barbituates and alcohol.  Always the type of person to push limits, I had spent years pushing my body’s tolerance for drugs and alcohol...and that night I had pushed it too far.

A friend of mine rushed me to the hospital that night after I had called him, collapsed on the floor, to pick me up.  The majority of what happened after I entered through the emergency room doors is a blur...however I do remember certain details.  I remember the frantic movements of the doctors around me.  I remember being asked questions that my mind couldn’t process and which my mouth couldn’t answer.  I remember feeling cold and feeling like the whole scene was a dream.  And that’s it; that’s the last I remember until I woke up the next day.

A nurse woke me up early the next morning and introduced herself as Maria.  Being as I couldn’t remember most of the previous night, she explained to me that I was in the behavioral health wing of the hospital.  She moved about the room quickly and efficiently, taking my blood pressure, adjusting monitors, and handling all the other tasks that nurses manage to do so well.  I had very few questions (I really didn’t feel like talking) so she finished and left the room with a cheerful smile. 

As the days wore on and my stay in the behavioral health wing of the hospital continued, Maria and I talked more and more frequently.  She talked about her family and asked about mine.  She brought me snacks and juice and books and magazines to make me comfortable.  She offered advice and talked about the importance of a sober life.  Most of all, and what I view as one of the most important aspects to my recovery, Maria treated me with kindness and respect and with a general sense of hope that I had never received before.

I was in the hospital for 10 days before I was finally released.  Maria was the first person to wake me up that morning and she was the last one to say goodbye and wish me luck.  I truly believe that it was through her help and her support that I was able to leave the hospital with a sense of hope.  Her contagious attitude has stayed with me until this day and I can’t imagine how many other patients were as lucky as I was to have her as a nurse.  Thank you Maria, for everything.