Thread by @gradydoctor

1/
Afternoon rounds at Grady: Sister and the Warrior

Her: "Did you feel nervous when you got that?"
Me: "When I got what?"
Her: *points at my wrist* "That."
Me: "Oh this? First yes. Then no."

*silence*

2/
Her: "Wow. I never saw a doctor with a tattoo on her wrist."
Me: "No?"
Her: "Nope."

*silence*

Me: "So. . .I'm curious. How does that make you feel?"
Her: *shrugs* "I mean. . .I'm young. So mostly it make it seem like you cool."

*laughter*

3/
Her: "But real talk, Dr. Manning? I think it just make me know you a regular person."
Me: "Yeah?"
Her: "Yeah."

*silence*

Her: "Like, to me? A tatt s'posed to tell a story about you. Like, if you gon' get one? I say it should mean something, feel me?"
Me: *listening*

4/
Her: *pulls gown off of shoulder to reveal an elaborate tattoo* "See this one? It mean 'WARRIOR.' Because I been through so much with my health but I'm always gon' keep fighting."

*kicks her foot out of the blankets to reveal another on top of her foot*

5/
Her: “This one hurt like hell!"
Me: "Yeah?"
Her: "Oh hell yeah!"

*laughter*

Her: "It mean a lot to me, though. So it was worth it."
Me: *listening*

6/
Her: “This one remind me that even though some people walked over me when I was little? I ain't no victim. I can still make my own path and be somebody other people want to follow, you know what I'm sayin'?"
Me: *nodding* "That's dope."

*silence*

7/
Her: "I mean, you DO gotta be careful about where you get ink. And what it say. But you also got to do you." *covers feet back up with covers* "And you shouldn’t be drunk or nothing."
Me:"Truth."
Her: "My friend got her name spelled wrong like that."
Me: 😳

*laughter*

8/
Her: *points at my wrist again* "Okay. So what's the story behind that?"
Me: *turning my wrist to look at it* "Well. . . I lost a sister."
Her: "Man. Sorry."

*silence*

Her: "What's her name?"
Me: "My sister?"
Her: "Yeah."
Me: "Deanna. Her name was . . uh. . is Deanna."

9/
Me: "She was awesome so I like remembering her this way."
Her: *listening*
Me: “I have another sister living. And I'm forever a sister to her, Deanna, and to my brother. I believe in women having tight bonds. So. . . I'm a sister to my women friends, too.”

*thinking*

10/
Her: “I like that. Is that it?”
Me: “Hmmm. I’m a black woman so there's that part. And then there's Delta Sigma Theta—my sorority. Long story--but that's another sisterhood I'm in."

*silence*

Her: “Was Deanna in the Deltas?”
Me: *smiling* “You know what? She was.”

11/
Her: *smiling back* “Man. That's what's up."

*silence*

Me: *still looking at my wrist* "You know? I was gonna put it somewhere else at first. But then I realized that I wanted to see it every day. So I put it here on my right wrist." *pointing* "To remember, you know?"

12/
Her: "See? I told you a tattoo make people know you a person."
Me: *laughing* "I'm not so sure everyone would agree. Especially my dad.“

*laughter*

Her: "I think sick people don't care about that. They just want to know you a real person who care and not a robot."

13/
Her: "I saw that and you know what I thought?"
Me: "What's that?"
Her: *pointing at straight me* "That sister right there? She gon' take care of me. 'Cause that sister got love in her heart for somebody. Soon as I seen that, I knew."

She nodded slowly then shook her head.

14/
Me: *wanting to cry so bad*
Her: *just staring at me smiling*

*silence*

Her: "I love your tattoo, Dr. Manning. And I bet you, Deanna would, too.”

I nodded my head and let a tear slip out.

Me: "You know what, little sister? I think so, too."

Damn, I love this job.👊🏾

P.S. Details always changed to protect anonymity. But lessons always remain the same.

Always.

👊🏾❤️