erin elizabeth

Nurse, Nerd, Narcoleptic. Hanger is a real emotion.

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

"My name's Raymond. I'm 73. I work the parking lot at St. Joseph's Hospital. Minimum wage, orange vest, a whistle I barely use. Most people don't even look at me. I'm just the old man waving cars into spaces.
But I see everything.

Like the black sedan that circled the lot every morning at 6 a.m. for three weeks. Young man driving, grandmother in the passenger seat. Chemotherapy, I figured. He'd drop her at the entrance, then spend 20 minutes hunting for parking, missing her appointments.

One morning, I stopped him. "What time tomorrow?"
"6:15," he said, confused.
"Space A-7 will be empty. I'll save it."
He blinked. "You... you can do that?"
"I can now," I said.

Next morning, I stood in A-7, holding my ground as cars circled angrily. When his sedan pulled up, I moved. He rolled down his window, speechless. "Why?"
"Because she needs you in there with her," I said. "Not out here stressing."
He cried. Right there in the parking lot.

Word spread quietly. A father with a sick baby asked if I could help. A woman visiting her dying husband. I started arriving at 5 a.m., notebook in hand, tracking who needed what. Saved spots became sacred. People stopped honking. They waited. Because they knew someone else was fighting something bigger than traffic.
But here's what changed everything, A businessman in a Mercedes screamed at me one morning. "I'm not sick! I need that spot for a meeting!"

"Then walk," I said calmly. "That space is for someone whose hands are shaking too hard to grip a steering wheel."

He sped off, furious. But a woman behind him got out of her car and hugged me. "My son has leukemia," she sobbed. "Thank you for seeing us."

The hospital tried to stop me. "Liability issues," they said. But then families started writing letters. Dozens. "Raymond made the worst days bearable." "He gave us one less thing to break over."

Last month, they made it official. "Reserved Parking for Families in Crisis." Ten spots, marked with blue signs. And they asked me to manage it.

But the best part? A man I'd helped two years ago, his mother survived, came back. He's a carpenter. Built a small wooden box, mounted it by the reserved spaces. Inside? Prayer cards, tissues, breath mints, and a note,

"Take what you need. You're not alone. -Raymond & Friends"
People leave things now. Granola bars. Phone chargers. Yesterday, someone left a hand-knitted blanket.
I'm 73. I direct traffic in a hospital parking lot. But I've learned this: Healing doesn't just happen in operating rooms. Sometimes it starts in a parking space. When someone says, "I see your crisis. Let me carry this one small piece."

So pay attention. At the grocery checkout, the coffee line, wherever you are. Someone's drowning in the little things while fighting the big ones.

Hold a door. Save a spot. Carry the weight no one else sees.
It's not glamorous. But it's everything."

Let this story reach more hearts....

Credit: Mary Nelson

[Doc Bastard @DocBastard]

The best part of this story is the part where you thought this would make the hospital look bad and you look like some kind of hero, @LetitiaMontana.

You’re not a hero. You’re a selfish, entitled asshole.

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

@SandraLeeMD Patient education is one of our main objectives, maybe that's why? We explain things to the patient after the dr leaves, so that they understand. Kthanksbye

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

@Janice27982810 Thats a room deodorizer on the floor..

[PRHC @PRHC1]

People of #PTBO, please remember that our healthcare professionals at #PRHC are working under incredible pressure right now to keep you healthy and safe. They are on the front lines providing care and support in unprecedented circumstances. Please be safe, be calm, and be kind.

[PTBO_CANADA 🇨🇦 @Ptbo_Canada]

Powerful words from an ER doctor @PRHC1 about how citizens have a critical role to play in this fight. #Covid_19

plz RT

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

@rn_emergency Agreed. I think we all know someone like this. It's disheartening to think someone would want their colleagues to fail so badly instead of encouraging

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

Still recovering from my first @GrapplingCo experience.... but so ready to do it again! #girlsingis #bjj

[WheelERdoc @realEDdoc]

Hi! I’m an ER doc. You might know me from my greatest hits including “how much have you had to drink tonight?” “Why weren’t you wearing your seatbelt/helmet?” And “what made you think your stubbed toe/toothache/runny nose was an emergency at 3 AM?”

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

Not sure if that is better or worse than "12" ...

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

Amen. It's like magic, they just appear!

[ER 💩 Magnet, BSN RN CEN @ERshitmagnet]

rule no. 281 never say a frequent flyer’s name out loud, especially at work

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

Working out my nurse rage had landed me here. Guess I better start acting like I know what I'm doing some of the time.. next up, blue belt! #jiujitsu #strugglesnuggles

[Deepa Soni @drdeepasoni]

Please, not another bandaid. Come and spend an evening in an ER: shadow doctors and nurses to understand what the actual problem is so that REAL solutions can be found. We’ve now spent 2 decades with ‘offload delays’ in the ER; it has to stop once and for all

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

@DrNimigan Or into a blender that is plugged into the wall still.

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

😂😂

[Tim Rollwagen @trollwag]

Wow. Buckhorn, Lakehurst, Norwood, Lakefield, and large chunks of @Ptbo_Canada are without power at the moment. This is a major outage. I took a picture. @CBCNews @CHEXNewswatch @CTVNews @global @citytv

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

It's a little sad that this notice has to be sent out.

[Peterborough Police @PtboPolice]

Please refrain from calling the Police about the power outage, cause unknown at this time please call your utility company.

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

Truth. Love Christmas, hate people.

[Erin Johnston @eeron]

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

[erin elizabeth @erin_e_john]

@MysteryMedic I want a therapy horse to visit me when I am working!