I Matter

Every year our program (Cardiac Rehab) has a Holiday party for our patients so that they can get together to socialize. Not that they don't already do this on a regular basis when they are exercising (or supposed to be exercising), but apparently it's been a tradition to give them another chance to socialize with each other. This year I took charge of locating a venue and putting everything together. I loved it!! Anyone who knows me, knows that I love organizing social gatherings (I'm working on being less introverted, let me know if I'm succeeding....HA!).

The day of the party, everything went great and many of the patients let us know that they had a great time, the food was good, the games were fun, and the company was great! It was a great feeling to know that my first attempt at organizing this shindig worked out so well. The icing on the cake though was when one of our heart transplant patients (the one mentioned in a previous blog) stood up at the end of the luncheon and gave the staff a little speech of heartfelt thanks. She is an excellent speaker and with tears in her eyes, she proceeded to let us know how much we mean to her and the other patients. How much we help them in their struggle to improve their health, not only physically but also guiding them through their emotional upheavals and bringing a smile to their faces with our quirky personalities. You really play the role of psychologist when you work in Cardiac Rehab and there are many days when you are not sure if you've reached the person you're trying to help or not. It was wonderful to hear the gratitude in her voice and see the sincerity in her eyes...to know that our work is actually making a difference and that we DO matter!!