At the end of her shift, Lois, a surgical and intensive care nurse for thirty years, was eager to go home to a hot bath and a novel. As she pulled out of the hospital parking lot, she saw the nearby ambulance station and felt an unexplainable urge to stop and greet the paramedics, most of whom she had worked with in the past as an EMT. The closer she got, the stronger she felt compelled to stop.
She had barely entered the building and greeted her friends when the phone rang. “There’s been an accident of two cars,” the head nurse said. “We’re understaffed today and could sure use your experience, Lois. Will you come with us?”
Instinctively, she climbed into one of the ambulances. As a bright yellow sunset hung over the Rocky Mountains, Lois felt an unseen force urging her to help. The sirens shrieked and they soon arrived at the accident site. While paramedics attended to an injured man in one car, Lois checked the vital signs of a woman sitting in the other car. There was no blood or visible signs of injury and the woman said nothing, but stared at Lois with vacant eyes.
Lois suspected a brain concussion, but kept her thoughts to herself. Hoping to comfort the woman, she said, “Looks like you’re going to be fine, but just to be on the safe side, we’ll take you to the hospital.”
The woman continued to stare at Lois, silently, as if her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
The injured man was loaded into an ambulance that sped away and the nurses placed the woman into a second ambulance. En route to the hospital, Lois held the patient’s hands and comforted her with assurances that everything was going to be fine.
The following morning when Lois reported for duty, she discovered that the woman accident victim was a patient on her floor. After checking her chart, Lois was relieved to see she was well enough to be discharged.
She entered the room and introduced herself. “I’m Lois, your nurse. How are you feeling?”
The patient blinked her eyes and her face turned white. “Are you real or am I hallucinating?”
“Oh, I’m real, I assure you.” Lois gently held the woman’s hand and checked her pulse.
“A...are you sure you’re not a…an angel?”
Lois smiled and attached the blood pressure cuff. “Nurses are often referred to as angels of mercy.”
Her patient continued to stare at Lois and whispered, “I mean a real angel.”
Lois raised her eyebrows. “A pair of wings would be handy, but, believe me, I’m just as human as you are.”
The woman shook her head. “Last night I was in a car accident and thought I might die. The sun was slipping behind the mountains when suddenly an angel appeared in a halo of light. When she touched me, I felt a surge of love and knew God sent her to reassure me that I’d live.” She clasped Lois’ hands. “You look and sound exactly like her except you don’t have wings!”
【日积月累】
intensive care n. 重病特别护理
sirens n. 警笛，汽笛
brain concussion 脑震荡
hallucinate v. 出现幻觉，使产生幻觉
cuff n. 袖口，护腕
halo n. (日月周围的)晕轮，光环
【参考译文】
她赢得了翅膀
路易斯担任手术和重症特别看护已经30年了。一天，快下班的时候，她只想回家泡个热水澡，看看小说。当她把车开出医院停车场时，她看见了附近的救护车站，突然感到一股莫名的急迫感，让她停下车去跟护理人员打招呼。里面绝大多数人员在她当紧急救护技术员的时候一起同事过。她走的越近，那股要她停下来的迫切感就变得越强烈。
当她正要走进大楼和她的同事打照面时，她的手机响了。护理长说：“出了车祸，两车相撞。今天我们人手不够，而你又有很丰富的经验，路易斯。你能过来帮我们一把吗？”
她本能地上了一辆救护车。当时绯红色的太阳正落到落基山那头，路易斯感到一股发自内心的动力要她出手相助。警笛一路响着，他们很快就到了事发地点。护士们照料着一辆车里受伤的一名男士，而路易斯则去查看另一辆车里的女士是否有生命迹象。那位女士身上没有血迹，也没有可见的伤口。但是她一言不发，两眼空洞地看着路易斯。
路易斯怀疑她可能伤成了脑震荡，但是没说出来。为了安慰她，路易斯说：“你看上去没事，不过为了安全起见，我们还是会带你去医院。”
女人依旧不做声，继续盯着路易斯，双眼仿佛就要从眼眶里迸出来了。
那位男伤者被抬进一辆救护车，火速送进了医院。护理人员把这位女士抬进了另一辆救护车。在前往医院的路上，路易斯一直握着她的手，安慰她说不会有事。
第二天早上，路易斯来报到上班时，发现那位出车祸的女人就在她负责的那层楼。查看过她的情况记录后，路易斯发现她没大碍，可以出院了，为此松了一口气。
她走进她的病房，自我介绍说：“我叫路易斯，是你的护士。感觉怎么样？”
病人眨眨她的眼睛，脸一下子变白了：“你是真实的吗？还是我产生幻觉了？”
路易斯轻轻地握着她的手，检查她的脉搏：“噢，我是真实的，我保证。”
“你……确定你不是天使吗？”
路易斯笑了，把血压测量仪摘了下来。“护士常常被称作爱心天使。”
她的病人继续看着她，嘀咕道：“我说的是真正的天使。”
路易斯的眉毛扬了起来：“有对翅膀会很方便，不过，相信我，我和你一样就是个凡人。”
女病人摇了摇头。“昨晚我遭遇了一起车祸，我以为我会死掉。当时太阳正从山的那头滑下去，突然一位天使在一个光环里出现了。当她触摸到我时，我突然感到一股爱的力量，知道上帝派她过来告诉我我还活着。”她抓紧路易斯的手：“除了没有翅膀外，你和那位天使长得一模一样。”
【人生启迪】
每一个热心帮助他人的人都是坠落在人间插着隐形翅膀的天使。所以不要放过每次能力所能及帮助别人的机会。那个时候你就是他们眼中的天使。