Loss of Innocence

A Loss of Innocence

My daughter, Veronica, is a student nurse.  She is a young woman, almost 22 years old.  But to me, she is still that sweet innocent 4-year old playing with her Fischer-Price doctor kit.

She is an excellent student and a very empathetic care giver. She consistently receives high marks and praise from the staff at the hospitals where she performs her clinical rotations.

But today I had a text conversation with Veronica that shed light on the fact that no matter how I view her in my mind and try to shelter her and keep her safe from evil in the world, she has now been exposed to the harsh realities of a cold, cruel world and the evil that men do.

She was working a night shift in the emergency room at the hospital on Friday night when she experienced a series of firsts in her budding career as a nurse. An 18-year old boy was beaten nearly to death. The paramedics worked on him, keeping him alive long enough to get to the ER. There, a team of doctors and nurses, including Veronica, worked valiantly to save this young man’s life but it was a losing battle and he finally succumbed to his injuries.

My precious daughter had just experienced death of a human being at the hands of another human being.

I don’t know why, but that conversation has affected me on a deeply emotional level.

Sure. As a former soldier, paratrooper, Green Beret, and DoD civilian, I have seen my share of death and destruction brought about by a myriad of circumstances, both accidental and deliberate. It’s not something I ever wanted my daughter to experience.

But, I know she is no longer that child and has chosen a profession where she will experience trauma, disease and death.

And I don’t know what has affected me more. The fact that she must now learn to cope with this as a fact of life or that the innocence of my little girl has been ripped away and now I must realize that she is no longer a child.

Happy Easter!

And remember…

Life is a Sandwich. Eat it up!