[reason 157] choosing grace

I arrived early for my infusion and waited longer than normal in the waiting room. Once called in, I noticed how busy it was - only two chairs were empty and there were more patients in the waiting room. 

As I settled myself into my chair, a volunteer offered me a beverage and a warm blanket. My nurse introduced herself and said she'd soon be with me. 

She took care of the end of one patient's appointment, then hurried to resolve an issue with another patient's iv. Then it was my turn. I warned her that my veins pose a challenge, and after two attempts to set up the iv she put in a call for an iv specialist. And we waited. And waited. 

Finally the specialist arrived and got the iv in ... on the second try ... two hours and eighteen minutes after my appointment time for a half hour infusion. 

It was then another ten minutes or so until the medication was finally flowing into my body. 

I could have been impatient. I could have complained. I could have been upset. But I chose grace. 

There are so many things that were no one's fault. It wasn't my usual day (Fridays the nurse who gets my iv on the first try is there ... it was a Tuesday). The specialist had to be called in from another part of the hospital, where she had several patients before me. The nurse assigned to me was new to the department and still learning the procedures. The time it took was no one's fault. Everyone was doing their best.