“Thank You for Saying Yes.”

Written by Emily Bussen, Assistant Director

It’s 12:35pm. I am looking forward to finally sitting at my desk and eating my turkey and cheese sandwich before lunch duty in 15 minutes. I am a little extra tired because we were short handed today and I had to fill in on the showers. I wanted to run to the back real quick to grab some more cough drops to put in a goodie bag for a guest, Sam, that was hopping on the train the next day. He has asked for cough drops many times over the past several months as well as chap stick every now and then. We wanted to put together a little farewell gift. Sam has been such a joy to see everyday but we are all happy he is finally going to Colorado to live with his brother.

As I am making my way to my office, I get stopped by Damien. He asked if I have a glucometer in my office, but I do not. All I can think about is sitting down and eating my sandwich. As awful as it sounds, I was tempted to tell him to see me after lunch. I decide I can take him over to the medical office because I know there is a machine there. He checks his sugar. It was a little high, but not bad. I gave him a bottle water and told him to drink it. We left out and Damien said, “Everybody always tells me ‘I can’t, I can’t.’ Well you can and you do. Thank you.” This is coming from a 6’3” 280 lbs man that is not known for giving compliments. I tell him thank you. Moments like that are what keep me going day in and day out. People like Sam and Damien are what make every minute here at the HTC so rewarding.