Anyway, I thought of it and thought you might be interested.
It’s just a thought, but it might give people in hospitals something to do.
You never did get back to me on the sheep question.
I’m not sure you get winter where you are, but if you do, I’m hoping you enjoy spring. It’s beautiful here in the Ozark foothills.
Sincerely,
The Healing Pen
DEAR HEALING PEN,
I loved your idea!
That’s why it’s taken me so long to write back. I actually started the day I got your letter—I’d gone home the day before and was already bored out of my mind—on working on the app that you suggested.
It was a brilliant idea. And you’re right, there’s nothing like it.
And why not? Shouldn’t doctors and nurses be held to the same standard that everyone else is? You can rate restaurants, hotels, B&Bs, books, movies...why not healthcare?
So anyway, it’s been two weeks, and I actually have a bit of a prototype that I thought you’d be interested in trying.
Now, I know you don’t have a computer, and I know we’re not supposed to send detailed information. The man who set us up on my end told me that much. However, if you send me your email address, I’ll give you a link where you can try out my app. I’m still developing it, but you can give me some feedback.
I think I’m a no on the sheep. I don’t want to be a sheep. I want to make my own way. I think people sometimes just hear stuff and believe it, and they’re afraid to branch out from their little bubble and listen to anything that doesn’t agree with what they already believe or to be different from everyone around them.
I don’t want that ever to be me.
I’ve never really fit in anywhere, so the sheep thing isn’t for me.
You never answered my question. What do you like to do other than write letters and be a nurse?
Thanks.
Computer Geek
DEAR COMPUTER GEEK,
Wow! You already know I don’t know anything about computers, but I am so impressed with what you’ve done. I cannot believe you made this app yourself.
I can see how it’s handy and informative. I can also see how people could use it just for enjoyment. I mean, you could actually build like the ideal hospital, right? You know, picking the best doctors and nurses from each hospital in the country once the app has been filled in.
One suggestion, I know you said this is just a skeleton, but I do hope you have room for comments. Because, say for example you rate a nurse a three, and you do that because you don’t like her suggestive bedside manner.
That same nurse might get a five from me, because I wouldn’t have that problem. So, to explain why you put the rating down you did would be very helpful.
I’m really excited about this! I think you’ve got something really cool on your hands.
Obviously, when I’m not in the ER, and even when I am—I’m in it now, but it’s a quiet night—I enjoy writing. Not stories, because they’re too long. I don’t have the patience to build a world, but I just like writing my thoughts down. I suppose some people talk, and that’s fine, but I never did, not much. As the youngest of six siblings, I had to be pretty loud if I wanted to be heard.
So I just sat in a corner and wrote.
I live in the Ozarks. We have all kinds of rivers and streams, waterfalls, and just beautiful glens with rippling brooks, and I’m fascinated with water. I suppose, if I weren’t a nurse, I would be a whitewater rafting guide.
You?
Sincerely,
The Healing Pen
DEAR HEALING PEN,
I had been going in a totally different direction with the app. Much more serious. But I like the way you think. Actually, I think there could be a game associated with it, completely separate from the app but connected, if that makes sense. I know it wouldn’t be for everyone, but for people who are stuck in hospitals, it could have appeal for them.
Not to mention someone in a hospital in Phoenix could connect with someone in a hospital in Maine. I think it’s nice when you find people whom you have things in common with. Isn’t that what we look for in people? Similarities.
I guess, don’t tell anyone, but this is where I probably owe you an apology.
When you first wrote to me, all I saw were our differences.
I wasn’t very nice. I guess I could say I was in pain, still am actually. It’s a pretty painful thing to break your femur. But I don’t think I can blame my unkindness on it.
Or maybe I should say I don’t want to.
I don’t want to be the kind of person who can’t be friends with someone who is different than they are.
I know you didn’t say anything, and I could be wrong, but I don’t think you probably would ever say anything.
But I was rude.
And I’m sorry.
You came up with a really great idea, and you shared it. I assume you were looking for something that you and I could talk about that I wouldn’t be mean to you about.
Anyway, just this experience with the app showed me maybe that you’re a better person than I am but also that I want to be a better person.
Thanks for that.
Thanks for doing it without hitting me over the head with a sermon or a bunch of Bible verses. You wouldn’t have gotten very far if you did that.
Okay, I just needed to get that off my chest. I felt it was right to tell you. You’ve done a lot for me, with just the idea of the app, and then your feedback. Maybe it’ll never go anywhere. Regardless, if it does, I have you to thank.
I’m going to spend some time working on it and adding to it, and I’ll email you another link.
I had thought, when you sent me your email address, that we would write that way. It would be easier. But sometimes I think easier isn’t always better. Actually, I kind of like going to my mailbox now and wondering if there will be a letter from you in there.
Not sure why this person in my life wanted me to start writing to you, but it’s funny how little things can give us something to look forward to and lift our mood. Maybe that’s what he intended.
If it is, it worked.
Thanks for hanging in there with me.
I think whitewater rafting sounds like fun.
Gratefully,
Computer Geek
DEAR COMPUTER GEEK,
The best time to go whitewater rafting is in the spring, when the rivers are high.
I’m just telling you what I found out, because I’ve never actually been whitewater rafting. Before you say anything, I know I said that I would be a whitewater rafting guide.
But that was just whimsical thinking. Because obviously, my life didn’t go that way, and it will not happen. Ever.
I’m not against going though. In fact, I’d like to. But my best friend has five kids, and she’s actually expecting her sixth with her new husband. I know she isn’t going to be going rafting anytime soon.
While I’m happy for her, it makes me sad sometimes to be around her. Because she has a great marriage with my brother, the kind of marriage I’d like to have.
I watch her kids sometimes. I’ve also been spending a lot of time with my foster siblings. I like kids. You?
I’m glad things are working out with your app. Makes me happy to have helped.