First, an apology that I missed my Thursday scheduled post this week. I have a long list of reasons why, the most parsimonious of which is that my Dad was leaving for Arizona today and dinner with him took priority over my musings here.
Ordinarily I would have written after he left my house last night but I was exhausted. It’s been one of those weeks in our burn unit in which I am reminded of how remarkable our team is. I was supposed to leave last Sunday night for the American Burn Association meeting in Boston. Instead, I stayed home because my heart (and my experience) told me that I was needed here. It has been one of my busiest weeks in a long time, and certainly one of my most operatively challenging.
While I am incredibly tired and very ready to hand the service off to my practice partner who is on her way home, I’m also humbled and grateful. I am humbled by a team that found a way to meet the needs of our patients, even when it meant giving up days off or being a bit inconvenienced. I am grateful that I work with a team who “gets” the concept of doing the right thing to deliver the care that our patients need.
While many of them have credited me this week for the professional sacrifice of not going to Boston, I would argue that I don’t deserve to be on the national stage if I’m not delivering the goods at home. And while I’ve spent my week doing things that I was needed to do, there is absolutely no way I could have done it without this group of people who share my passion for burn care.
To my team: Thank you. Thank you for your clinical expertise and for being wonderful people. You’ve kept me afloat when it hasn’t been easy this week. Most importantly, you’ve done some good things for some people who really needed it. Your ability to do both small and great things with great love makes you who you are. Don’t change.