Fake it til you make it.

Newsflash, I’m tired.

Regardless, I had an interesting conversation with a patient I was prepping for surgery last night.

It was so very late.

He was having a surgery that he obviously didn’t want to think about.

So he asked me about how the pandemic had been treating the hospital.

And specifically, how the pandemic had been treating me.

He said that he had been so relived when he got his second shot.

In fact, he had signed up for his first and received it the very first day that his age group was eligible.

I told him that I had never been so excited when my husband got his second shot in the end of April, although I had been vaccinated since January.

While waiting for the rest of the team we talked about many things.

Just not the surgery he was having.

I allayed his fears.

I comforted him.

I laughed with him.

He talked about being excited to get home in time to take the dogs out for their morning walk.

I talked about how exciting it had been to serve as a vaccination nurse.

And he showed me pictures of his dogs.

When the double doors opened, heralding the surgeon come to sign the consent, he turned to me and said that he could never be a nurse.

I smiled, with my eyes of course, and asked why.

He said that he was too much of an introvert.

After the surgeon came and signed the consent, I leaned in close and confessed that I was a huge introvert.

That people are hard for me.

That I fake it.

But everyone needs care.

He smiled at me, with his eyes and said well you do a good job.