'It blew me away': Heartwarming story behind photo of young nurse and elderly patient
It’s the photo that says more than words ever could – and an emotional mum knew right away that it had to be shared with the world.
Courtenay Noble was recovering from a burst appendix in Sunshine Coast Hospital last week when she came across a young nurse taking a moment out of her day to sit and converse with an elderly bed-ridden patient.
Speaking to Yahoo7 News, the 45-year-old said she was almost brought to tears when she came across the pair sitting at the end of the hallway soaking in the afternoon sun.
“I was in the room opposite this elderly lady and there’s not much sunlight in there,” she explained.
“This nurse, she would have been no older than 25, walked in and pushed her bed down the end of the corridor. She just parked it there, pulled up a chair sat down and held her hand.
“It just blew me away, I just stood there in awe for a minute taking it all in.
Describing it as the moment that “restored [her] faith in humanity”, Ms Noble said the pair sat there for at least 20 minutes discussing her family.
“She spoke with such humility, she was just treating her as a human being,” she added.
“I will never forget that moment of turning around and seeing [the nurse] holding her hand.”
Unable to keep the moment to herself, she showed the young nurse the photo and explained how moved she had been.
“She was so casual about it, she smiled and walked off to go do some other things,” Ms Noble said, adding that her reaction suggested it was not the first time she had performed such a touching gesture.
The moment was reminiscent of a scene in Hervey Bay last year where Queensland paramedics fulfilled the wish of a palliative care patient by taking her to the beach.
Helen Donaldson, the officer in charge of Hervey Bay paramedics, posted a picture of the trip on Facebook with the hospital bed overlooking the ocean alongside a paramedic.
“She just wished she could be at the beach again,” she said.
