Here is the part no one tells you about hospital life. You spend all day reading heart rates and oxygen levels and then you step outside and realize your own heart rate finally dropped too.You spend all day chasing vitals and the sky just hands you peace for free.No co-pay.No referral needed.
I took some time off from hospital on call duty to take some fresh air.The wards can wait for a bit.The pagers are silent for now and my brain finally has a minute to breathe.Hospital life moves fast.One emergency after another,one decision after another.It is easy to forget what the outside world feels like.
So I stepped out.
Look at this weather.Soft clouds are rolling across the sky like someone painted them there on purpose.The air is cool and it smells like rain might come but I think not today.There is green everywhere.Grass,trees,open space.The kind of quiet that does not ask anything from you.The city skyline sits in the distance with those tall buildings catching the light.From here it looks calm.
The sky has that moody look.Grey clouds but not heavy.More like thoughtful.The breeze keeps moving through the trees and it is the first time all day that I am not rushing.My shoulders have dropped relaxed like.My head finally feels a bit lighter.
Being on call teaches you to be alert every second.But it does not teach you how to pause.You have to choose that yourself.And today I chose it.No charts,no rounds,no calls for ten to twenty minutes.Just this path,this sky and this moment.
Sometimes stepping outside is the best medicine.Fresh air does what coffee cannot.It resets you.It reminds you that the world is bigger than one hospital floor.That there is life beyond monitors and notes.
I will get back to work soon.However,It’s like breathing between hospital shifts.Looking forward to more off-duty,on peace vibes.
