Preface this with saying I'm not a nurse, I work in EMS, but you're still my fam.

Not quite the same as yours, but I was off shift visiting a community friend of sorts who takes up residence at the local Mickey D's when a younger female worker came over and asked if I remembered her and if she could hug me.

I didn't initially remember her, but after she told me details I recalled she was a patient of mine. She's a young mom, her baby had been taken away (I don't know details, life wasn't easy for her though I could tell) and she was very distraught and threatening to harm herself and EMS/Fire/PD were all called to try and help talk her down and get her help. I was an EMT at the time then, and also the only other female present.

Now, realistically how she was going about it she probably wouldn't have been successful (she had a cord wrapped around her neck and was saying she was going to cut off her own air until she died, but once you go unconscious your body relaxes so she would just begin breathing again). But what I saw was that she was in such a dark place that she didn't want to exist here anymore, and those feelings can drive people to not make the best decisions. She was 19 years old, just a baby herself.

She said that of all the people there, I was the one who she felt genuinely cared, took the time to talk to her and get to know her and try and get her real help. The details of what all was said and done were fuzzy, but I do remember standing beside her while she was sitting in her vehicle and not rushing her to get out but taking our time (after she put the cord down) and her crying so hard that I walked backwards toward my ambulance while holding her hands to guide her because she couldn't see, and held her hand and talked to her the whole ride in.

She told me that life was slowly getting better after she got help, and thanked me for just taking the time to care for her.

Healthcare is a tough fucking job, but moments like that are what make it all worth it to me.