An assistance dog story for the third advent
Mascha, medical alert dog, has been at my appointments at the clinic from the beginning. She is a reliable help in setting the high-tech. When exactly this indicated a difficult defect and a complicated surgery was pending, Mascha was admitted as an inpatient. She waited patiently with my husband in the patient room on the day of surgery. They waited and waited, as the announced surgery time tripled. My body took a very long time to sort itself out again. I tried to convince the team in the recovery ward to discharge me to the patient room with oxygen, because I would be perfectly taken care of. Mascha would sound the alarm in time and my husband would be there too. Not a chance! And then there was a MAYBE. Perhaps, exceptionally, the assistance dog and the man would be allowed to come to the station …
It was already late in the evening. Only three patients who had not made it back to their patient rooms were still on the ward. That’s when I heard a doctor on the phone say, “Send the package.” The package: it was Masha and my husband. My bed was lowered so the dog would be comfortable, too. When Mascha’s tap could be heard, the other patients wanted their privacy shields aside. For a few minutes, smiling faces brightened the clinical routine all around. Mascha did everyone good.
I was incredibly grateful for this exception, which made the day so much more bearable. Masha’s presence mobilized everything to get back on track. And lo and behold – before the new day dawned, we were back in the patient room. The third light shines for the great staff of the hospital, to my husband and to Masha.