Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Wanted to share a really nice story from the hospital. There was one night where I was feeling particularly lonely. I'd been away from home for just over a month before this happened so it had been ages since I'd spent time with the kids, the Easter holidays were nearly over and my husband wasn't able to visit much.

After I tucked myself up for the night I was having a little cry to myself. Obviously not as subtly as I thought as the lady in the next bed noticed and called one of the ward assistants in. She came and chivvied me up, passed me tissues and forced me to talk. My Portuguese isn't spectacular and I just wanted to be left alone, but these two ladies wouldn't let me be. When I said I was lonely they told me their stories too, and suddenly we were talking. I went to sleep perhaps not happy, but at least not crying.

The next morning the same ward assistant bounced in and gave me a big hug and checked all was OK with me before she went off duty.

In the afternoon my husband came by unexpectedly. I was chatting to him when I noticed that the lady in the next bed was upset. So I asked him to make himself scarce for a while and I sat on her bed and gave her a hug until she felt a bit better. She was missing her husband, who was had passed, and our chat and then my husband coming in (and my smile) had triggered some emotions in her.

I'm just so hugely grateful to have had the opportunity to repay this lady's kindness with some comfort of my own. The next day she asked her daughter to bring in a gift for me from home, a hand embroidered decoration for the kitchen.