The burn center I volunteer at will be building a new facility in the near future. Design plans have been set in motion with staff and patient input. We spent a week brainstorming current deficits and dreaming of perfect work flow, sufficient office space, family comfort, therapy rooms on site – a long list of wants that will enhance patient care and staff longevity.
The current unit has fostered many deficit heroes, staff who have learned to make the best of a less-than-ideal setup. One goal of the architects is to push everyone past this mentality to expect a little more to make their jobs easier. While corporate America demands workout gyms, convenient parking and the expensive latte machine, medical professionals tend to put their patients first and take care of themselves second.
While I truly admire each and every one of them for this, I’m hoping the next center will reward their sacrifices and provide above and beyond their stated wishes. They deserve the best. As patients, we can’t thank them enough for the very difficult work they do caring for extremely complex burns and wounds.
As I ponder the 32nd anniversary of my accident this week, the deficit hero line intrigues me. Survivors become de facto deficit heroes by recovering. We can’t receive a “new facility” – at least not this side of eternity – but we can push past our scars, sacrifice a few perks most people take for granted and live to the fullest. The gift of life requires nothing less.