Barbara and John

The other day a friend of mine went home to heaven.
Her name was Barbara Robinson and I had the distinct pleasure and privilege to work with her in the Emergency Department at Backus Hospital.  She was there as a nurse when I started as a nursing assistant and she watched, encouraged, and like so many other of my colleges, mentored me on my way to becoming an RN and afterwards.
We shared laughs and cries.
We shared friendship.

We also lost John McCain this week.
I didn’t know him but like you, I knew of him.
He was a war hero, a US Representative, and a Senator.
His politics were not mine, but he did save healthcare for hundreds of thousands of Americans with a dramatic thumbs down vote.
And he stood on principles above politics on more than one occasion, when very few others would.

It’s easy to see how the Senator influenced millions of people.
Maybe not as easy to see how Barbara did.
But between those she mentored and the patients and families she cared for, and her own family who she loved, Barb also influenced millions.

We are better for having both of them in our lives and we will miss them.
My friend Chuck, a Navy Corpsman, wished the Senator “fair seas and calm winds” on FB the other day.
I like that Chuck, I echo that farewell.
And Barb….
Your shift is over, your patients are safe, we’ll take it from here. Rest our sister.

Thank you both for your service.

Let Salma Stay

It has been my pleasure and honor to come to know the Sikander family over the past week or so.
I wish it could have been under better circumstances.

A couple of weeks ago,  one of our Field Reps, Shane, came to us with a concern.
One of our members, Eric Maroney, had a former student who’s mother was about to deported.
I met Eric at a rally outside the ICE office in downtown Hartford the following week.  He introduced me to Samir, his student, an impressive 18 year old young man about to start his first year at Quinnipiac University, fulfilling a dream of his parents, Anwar and Salma.
Anwar is a warm, gentle man who immediately made me feel like a guest. Several times he thanked me for coming and speaking on behalf of AFT, calling me Mr John.
Salma is quiet, polite, and warm.

Anwar and Salma came to this country 18 years ago from Bangladesh. They are seeking asylum.
They have both worked hard, never had any legal trouble and have raised a fine son and contribute to their community , their state, and their country.
They are as much American as any of us, save the paperwork.
Samir was born here.
ICE was going to deport Salma 4 days before her son started college.

The Rally was to attempt to reverse the decision and delay deportation, something well within ICE’s ability to do.
Yesterday, Salma had her last reporting to ICE. She was told she had till Thursday to leave the country. Her appeals and the appeals of the community and many, many politicians, had gone unheard.
Yesterday 9 members of her family and the community began a 48 hour fast outside the federal courthouse where ICE is located.
Last night they slept on the sidewalk in tents.

I stopped by today to do a wellness check at their request. I took vital signs and asked about medications and how they were feeling, advising them to drink plenty of water, which is all they were taking in.
It was both inspiring and depressing.

It’s sad what our country has become.

Samir told me that we had wanted to participate in the fast but that his mother forbid it.
“I have to obey my mother, especially now, on what may be one of her last days here.”

I ask you.
Isn’t this the kind of family we want in America?

Today, just before 5 pm, at about the last possible moment that they could, ICE reversed their decision.
Salma can stay for a year so that her asylum case can be heard.
I don’t know if it was the rallies, the political pressure, the fast, or all this and more…..
But Salma can stay.
She will see her son go to college.
And we are all better for it.

We are all children of immigrants.  All of our families came to this continent seeking a better life for our families. When we forget that, we lose an important part of what makes us Americans.