May 28 2012

As I'm putting an IV into an elderly gentleman and drawing blood, I'm making small talk with him. I switch from the vacutainer to the luer lock and flush, and a bit of blood dribbles out before I can attach it. A few drops drip onto his hospital gown. "I'm sorry about that," I say.

"It's okay, it's just a little blood," he replies, "nothing I haven't seen before."

"Were you in the medical field?" I ask, curiously.

"Oh no," he says. "I was at Omaha Beach."

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All I could say to him was thank you. Our worst day in the ER is nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to what those who fight have seen.



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Originally posted March 28 2010. Worthy of posting every day. Thank you, to all those who give me my freedom.