Friends who are family: the wonder of community

This post is a personal account by Heidi, Founder of Peaced Together

Last Friday, life took a bit of a dramatic turn for me. What had been a slight twinge in my back suddenly became a medical emergency and I was transported by ambulance to hospital. I’m doing much better now, but if any of this doesn’t make sense then I’ll blame the strong medication that I’m still taking!

The reason I wanted to share this story is so that I can celebrate some heroes. I want to tell you about the many NHS staff members from a wide range of backgrounds that cared for me that night. They all treated me with humanity and kindness with the one aim of making me well.

But my greatest hero that night was my friend Kudzai. Kudzai is a senior sister in the hospital that I was taken to but was off duty that night – it was her one night off in the middle of several night shifts. When she heard what my situation was, she chose to come in and stay by my side all night when none of my family members were allowed to be there due to current Covid-19 restrictions.

When staff members asked Kudzai why she was staying with me she replied, “Because she is my family.” Kudzai is from Zimbabwe and I am from Northern Ireland, but we are family because in Christ we are one. We are family because we belong to a church community where we lay our lives down for each other. We are family because over the years we have shared both laughter and pain together. 

I can’t fully express how I felt when I realised that Kudzai was at the hospital even before my ambulance arrived (I cried when I saw her!) She gave up her night off and stayed with me for hours so that I wouldn’t be afraid or alone. She held my hand and made me feel safe. I knew I had an advocate and I knew that she was by my side praying for me. 

I am so grateful to Kudzai, more than I can say. Thank you for being my advocate, thank you for being my friend and most of all, thank you for being my family.