The storms
The following passage was written by Texas Children’s Chaplain Jessica Shannon.
There are many types of storms. Some are literal and some are figurative. It seems that both types of storms have been constant for months now. We wonder when the storms will stop, but they stir up everywhere we turn.
At times, it seems there is no end in sight. When will our organization feel the same again? When will our city feel the same? As soccer has been starting again around the world, we watch our favorite clubs play to empty stadiums that normally house well over 50,000 singing fans. Other sports will follow the same path or choose not to have a 2020 season at all. The storms seem to keep coming.
With storms comes fear, uncertainty, panic, and anxiety. Houston is no stranger to storms. Normally, we buy water, milk, and bread. The panic preparations for COVID-19 added toilet paper to everyone’s grocery list. Panic buying is coping with fear and uncertainty. It’s trying to control something when we feel helpless, and helplessness is a common feeling we witness in healthcare. Parents want to fix their child, and they can’t. They sit in their child’s room wanting to do something, anything, to help. They feel out of control. They are in a storm. We have all joined together in a storm, and we will get through it together.
We rely on each other’s gifts, jokes, wisdom, calming presence, words of love, and moments of peaceful silence to weather the storms of 2020. Let’s all take a moment to reflect on how the many patients and families we have cared for have coped with fear and helplessness. They found hope in us. They found hope in families in the playroom. They found hope in a kind employee. They found hope in their community.
Our community is full of environmental services representatives, doctors, advanced practice providers, social workers, chaplains, leadership, nurses, child life representatives, guest services, interpreters, and so many more gifted people who make Texas Children’s a family. May we all give each other hope and peace. May we all remind each other that, despite the uncertainty, the storms will end.