The Hospital

I just got off the phone with a woman at the hospital.

I was sitting with a group of friends and acquaintances watching some figure skating in the Sochi Olympics when a friend of mine texted me "Call if me you can". I knew that my friend, who I am have been helping (with others, including professionals) in their depression for the last year and a half. This friend has texted me nearly every morning for months with thoughts of hopelessness. Every day.

When my friend answered the phone, I heard uncontrollable sobbing for about 2 minutes. Finally we spoke. My friend is falling away into pain and sadness and has been getting consistently worse for the last several months. To my friend, there is only darkness. "There is no hope for me." Despite MANY conversations with trusted friends, this friend cannot accept the idea of hope. 

It has been hard for me to watch a person who I feel so much hope for give up on themselves. I know that there would be a long and winding road in front of my friend if they were to choose it, but I believe that happiness is still an option - in the future. And I'm not here to talk about depression, or how to help someone with depression, or how they came to be in this condition or how things will probably play out. There will be plenty of time for that.

I want to talk about my conversation with the nurse. I called the hospital, and after a little hit and miss with which phone line to call, I spoke with a woman at the emergency unit. At some point in our conversation, she put me on hold for, I'm sure, a more pressing matter. I asked what to do when I thought my friend needed to be in a controlled environment or if I thought he/she were likely to do him/herself harm. The information she gave me might be very helpful later. As our conversation ended, she said in a very sincere and sympathetic tone "Good luck". 

Now, I know it's not much, but you need to hear what I heard.

She may have 'rattled' the phrase off as a common gesture, but I still felt it was sincere. I felt that she hoped it would work out for the best.

WHY?

Why does a stranger care? Seriously??

She values people AND their happiness. I think it's that simple. She has seen all kinds of tragedy in her work. She receives phone calls every day that are difficult to bear, yet she was not hardened or insensitive to my situation.

That small gesture of hoping that things would go well for my friend was very divine, I thought.