I used to be a runner. I always dreamed of running at the Boston Marathon but I knew I was not a strong distance runner. I was having knee issues and to run something that big you have to be mentally ready and physically prepared. At that time I didn’t have the support it took to make it happen.
Since those days I have had several friends run and complete the race. What an achievement to reach when you have worked so hard for 6 months to a year to prepare.
I was sitting in my office when a co-worker said “Turn on the news” there has been a explosion in Boston. My mind immediately went to the races I had ran in and knew the amount of people that was at small races. Boston is THE race….
Twin Bombs blowing up at the end of a long race where people are exhausted and excited about reaching their goals. A moment when there should be excitement and happiness turns into a nightmare.
The question everyone asks whenever something like this happens is “Why!” If only we had that answer, it makes no sense, it serves no purpose.
As a mental health nurse I know from years past that the person who felt this was something they needed to do has mental issues. No I am not diagnosing someone I don’t know, but to purposely harm people they don’t know, that are not hurting anyone else has mental issues to arrange for something like that to happen.
Just like when 911 happen, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Aurora Theater shooting and many more the hero’s show up. Many times we all do look at the bad in the world and what is going on that is scary and dangerous. We question the good in people and wonder what our world has turned too.
In the moments we think everyone has mental illness and nowhere we go is safe anymore – the hero’s pour out of the crowd to help those that are in need. As I watched the news to see how people were helping the injured or carrying them to get help, you see there are other hero’s offering support, a hug, a cup of coffee and just staying close by the well shaken runners.
Today this post is for the runners of Boston Marathon – to the families who lost someone to the ones that are injured and to the hero’s who helped.
God Speed…
Angela Brooks is a mental health nurse educator who spent the last 22 years working in a state funded mental hospital. She is the author of “The Nurses Voice” who exposes raw truth as a nurse. She is transitioning from nursing to one of the top positions in a health company changing life’s one oil at a time.