Lucy Invited to Celebration!

It all started with a call from my supervisor.
In celebration of Nurses' Week, there would be displays that would include nursing memorabilia as well as related hobbies
and she made a request that I bring my "special" friend Lucy to join us. And that's when the fun began...

When I told Lucy she needed to go to the hospital, she was SO very frightened.
She was actually SPEECHLESS!
She had never been to a hospital before, but I explained to her that she was invited to participate in our celebration
and that she would wear my old nursing cape that I wore when I was a nursing student (my... how times have changed!)

I could tell she was nervous on the way to the hospital.
We pulled up to valet parking and were met by Glen.
I told him that my friend was unable to walk and would it be possible for him to get her a wheelchair?
Without hesitating he took off and returned with a wheelchair, but was apologetic because it did not have foot supports but I advised him that wasn't necessary.
You should have seen his face when he opened the passenger side door and met Lucy for the first time.
Not wanting to alarm him any further, I introduced him to Lucy and explained that I was an ICU nurse
(were his inner thoughts... please don't let me need this nurse's services?) but being a good sport he played along like everything was normal!

He ever so gently lifted Lucy to the wheelchair and made sure she did not lose her shoes.
I thanked him profusely and he drove off with my car with a big smile on his face. (It was not 'til later that I found out he was new to this job.)

Since I could not find my old nursing cap, I quickly made one out of paper and we proceeded to the inservice room.
As I wheeled her down the hall, we got some funny stares from passersby and I wondered what they might be thinking.
We arrived to find our director of nurses talking with a group of staff.
When she turned our way, she let out a squeal and then broke out in laughter.
Poor Lucy... she must have been overwhelmed with all the attention.

Cell phones started clicking as everyone wanted a picture of the new celebrity, and from what I understand,
this continued through the day as Lucy greeted visitors and staff to the displays of nursing memorabilia.
Everyone wanted their photo with Lucy and one of the male staff even gave her a little kiss on the cheek (and yes... it was caught on film... or should I say, on pixels).

As if that was not enough fun, at the end of the day, my supervisor decided to play a little trick on me.
She and the staff placed Lucy on the toilet in our unit.
I was in a hurry to make a bathroom run and then help another nurse turn a patient.
I headed to the bathroom, opened the door and in shock realized someone was on the toilet and had not locked the door.
I let out a yell and then realized it was Lucy!
From around the corner came the staff and my supervisor laughing and congratulating themselves on a job well done.

As a final gesture after returning home, Lucy wrote a thank-you note to my supervisor thanking her for the invitation and for the royal welcome to the hospital.
She also thanked her for helping her to the bathroom because she was "too embarrassed to ask".
Another thank-you to Glen for his kind assistance.

Humor is a good thing in the workplace and I'm sure that Lucy will be fondly remembered for quite some time!