In previous installments of “Tales from Walla Walla”, we got to meet the friendly waitress who gave me handwritten restaurant recommendations, the kindly gentleman who gifted us two bags of coffee, and now here’s the story of the “Gracious Nurse”.
Recently, my son Nash had been having issues with pain in his right eye. Eventually, the pain got severe enough that he needed to head to Urgent Care. The nearest Urgent Care is about 5 miles away from the Whitman campus; a walk-able distance, but still challenging with only one good working eye.
In somewhat of an ordeal of public trolleys and getting disoriented, Nash was able to bring himself to Urgent Care by 2 PM. There, he met Anna, the front desk nurse who checked him in. Anna was friendly, but then regrettably informed Nash that the doctors on duty would not be able to see him till sometime after 5 PM.
Nash just shrugged… as he so often does.
By the time Nash was done with his doctor’s visit, it was after 6 PM, dark out, and the trolleys were no longer running... Realizing the situation he was in, and seeing - with his one good eye - that it was indeed “dark out”,
Nash just shrugged… as he so often does.
That’s when Anna called out to him, “Hey, how’d it go? But more importantly, how are you getting back to your dorm?”
Nash quickly turned back and answered “Well, there’s not much the doctor said other than I need to rest my eyes as much as I can. And as for getting back, I’m just gonna have to walk in the dark I guess. It’s OK. I have one good eye after all!”
“No, that won’t do… Is it alright if I give you a lift back to the dorms? My shift is over now, and you’re on the way home.”
“Really???" Nash replied in astonishment. “You’d give me, a complete stranger, a ride home?”
“Ha! You’re not a stranger Nash. Strange maybe… But not a stranger!”
And on those terms, Nash gratefully accepted Anna’s graciousness in giving him a ride home. Clearly, Anna saw the situation. A freshman in college who wasn’t from around here, walking home in the dark with apparent eye issues. As this student’s parent, I can’t thank Anna enough for stepping up and being the type of human I’ve come to expect from Walla Walla residents.
According to Nash, the ride home was incredibly quick by car. And I guess that’s true in comparison to his ordeal in getting there in the first place. By the time they rolled up to Lyman House, Nash thanked Anna profusely and told her that my dad will probably write a blog post about this encounter… And that prediction has come true. 🙂
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