I am a nurse. I am here to help you. I understand that you are sick, that you are hurting, that you are in pain. However, your pain is not an excuse for you to hurt others nor is it a valid reason for you to yell at me or your family. I studied to care for you, not to be physically or verbally abused by you. I got a degree to tend to you, not to be belittled by you. I persevered through years of sleepless nights to be here for you and I continue to do so but please do understand that I am here to serve you, not to enable you or be a slave to you. I am here to help you get better, not to spoil you. I am here to tell you the truth, no matter how painful it is, not to lie to you. Every time you curse at me, I let it go because you're sick and no one wants to be in the hospital. I get that. But just because I understand does not make it okay. Every time you insult me, I bite my tongue and continue to do my job because I'm aware that you are hurting. But I get hurt too. So please don't bite the hand that feeds you. Or the hand that heals you. Your suffering does not justify rudeness, defamation, and violation. But that's the reality isn't it? Pain and suffering. "Misery loves company," they say and, sometimes, you can't control it. You could be here for a lot of reasons: maybe you got into an accident, maybe you haven't been taking care of yourself, or maybe you're sick just because you're sick. Whatever your reason, you are here with me as your nurse and you might cooperate or you might not. You might be completely unconscious or you might fight me and be combative with me. You might joke around with me or you might swear at me. Nonetheless, I am here at your bedside, spending time with you because it has become the unfortunate norm for nurses to be able to "put up and shut up," deescalate the situation, and go on with our shift like nothing happened. So I will smile and greet you. Blame the sickness, not you. I will keep caring for you because that is what I am here to do. Because I am a nurse and I am here to help you.