I’ll have scrambled eggs and a six-pack of beer.

Written By Jeff Gray

Today we take time to honor and celebrate nurses who, to paraphrase a quote by Rawsi Williams, do what nobody else will do, in a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all they go through. The tremendous sacrifices made by nurses throughout the pandemic bring these words home, do they not?

My mother was a nurse. It was her calling. She graduated from the University of Iowa School of Nursing with a BS degree and went on to have two careers as an RN. The first was post-graduate until her first two kiddos were born and my dad’s career was in full-flight; the second when I was in high school. She was always drawn to care for those who had suffered catastrophic injuries. To her patients, she brought a level of hope and optimism that knew no boundaries. In nursing and in her personal relationships, her belief in what you were capable of often greatly exceeded your own. She never counted you out.

I remember a favorite story about her caring for a patient named Bill who had suffered a severe head injury and was in a coma (for context, this took place 50+ years ago). Every morning when she was caring for him she cheerfully asked him what he wanted for breakfast when she came into the room, and she would continue to talk to him throughout the day, sharing many details about what was going on in her life. This went on for days and then weeks until one day she walked in, and before she could ask Bill said, “I’ll have scrambled eggs and a six-pack of beer”! A great footnote to this story is that mom immediately called my dad and asked him to bring over a six-pack of beer right away which, of course, he did.

This story is special to me but the care, commitment, and compassion it exemplifies are common practice for the millions of nurses that came before and after my mom. If you know a nurse, you know this to be true. If you have a loved one who is a nurse, do something special for them today. If you’re not sure what to do, I will suggest a hug.

Jeff Gray
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