What does a hero look like?

We imagine Superman or Thor with their capes and rippling pecs.  

But they're just images on a movie screen.  Actors playing pretend.  Lines on a comic book page.

Real heroes look pretty ordinary.  They wear jeans and t-shirts, running shoes and baseball caps.  They sacrifice their valuable time and resources to be kind, to lift others, to do a job.

A good many of them wear scrubs and Hokas.  They ponytail their hair to keep it out of their faces.  They greet us in our most dire moments with a smile and sympathetic encouragement all while dealing with our bodily fluids.  

I'm talking about health-care workers--brave and self-sacrificing folks who make our worst days not so terrible and encourage us through the process of becoming whole again.

I looked around for one shining example that I could share with you here.  But there are just too many.

I could talk about the Hospice nurse who bolstered a couple dozen kids and grandkids as my mother passed away from a traumatic brain injury.    She helped us understand the process with refreshing honesty and constant support.

I could talk about the phlebotomist who was the only one in the clinic lab able to get a bead on my tiny vein.  It didn't help that I was dehydrated that day.  He was confident and comforting and he did it in one poke!  

These two are some of the health care heroes in my life.  Little things, really.  Just doing their jobs.  But it mattered to me.

Here at Artistic Chaos Ink, we'd like to recognize the month of October with its many ways to celebrate these often-unsung heroes.  Physician's Assistants Week, Medical Assistants Week, ER Nurse Week, Respiratory Therapy Week, Labtober (Mid-year Laboratory Technician's event), Dental Hygiene Month, National Physical Therapy Month, National Audiology Awareness Month, among others.  

So share your story with us in the comments, or take a few minutes and look up some inspiring stories of healthcare workers the world over.  

Here are a few links to get you started:

17 Inspiring Nurse Stories from HCA Healthcare

5 Inspiring Nurses Who Are Changing the Future of Healthcare

EMS Hero Stories

The Unsung Heroes of Healthcare: Appreciating Hospital Staff

And, to celebrate our heroic healthcare helpers, we carry a wide variety of healthcare-related products.  They make a perfect gift for your favorite healthcare worker, or as a thank-you for work well done and much appreciated, or for medical teams to show their appreciation for their staff.  

MEDICAL CARE POSTERS

Among these are some of our brand new posters!:

Medical Assistants

ER Nurses

Physician Assistants

Labtober

Thanks to all the doctors and nurses and assistants and lab techs and support staff who make our good health possible and help to turn our worst days into not-so-terrible days.  You guys are the BEST!!

 

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