For the love of Andrea....

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a very emotional person. I usually deal more out of the way I feel in my heart then the way I feel in my head. Sometimes this is a good thing but then again sometimes it is bad. Every once in a while my heart is opened by a situation that touches me deep down. I have a deep empathy for people with whom I can relate. I think in a lot of ways you need this potential for deep compassion when you're in the nursing field. I'm sure that there will be patients and situations that touch me deeper then others and truly I am relying on God to protect me from getting to involved and letting that interfere with my ability to do my job well. All this being said over the past week I have had my heart broken for the people who were killed/injured at the state fair. I don't know what about this incident in particular captured my heart but I think one reason might be that I spent a lot of time at the state fair when I was in 4-H. Almost every year we made the trek to Indy so that I could show my horse on the state level. I have a lot of good memories of the nights and days spent there. I have kept up with the stories and the people who were injured. I have been amazed at the amount of pure selflessness that people exhibited there that night. I have been very touch by the story of a young mother...about the same age as me with a daughter who is five. From what I can gather she is a good Christian woman who was just enjoying the concert with friends. The sad part about it is that it could have been anyone...you or me. I am very touched by her families grace and forgiveness. I find the cause of raising money to help her family to be a very important one. Her family has set up a blog and they also have a Facebook page devoted to Andrea and her recovery. Maybe this story won't resonate with you....not everyone operates the same emotionally...but maybe if you could say a small prayer for a woman that is fighting the fight of her life. I am praying hard for God to intervene and to do his will...while holding her family up in his arms, giving them strength and wisdom to do what is best. Here is the website if you would like to learn more. http://www.fortheloveofandrea.com