Honoring the heroic

Nusha Safabakhsh, MS, MBA, Executive Director of Measurement and Analytics, at Providence’s Institute for Human Caring, talks about one of her favorites.

I find Mr. Pakdel’s illustrations reveal the depth of our vulnerability in the current state. While we are all in this together, I personally can’t stop thinking about the healthcare workers and others directly involved in caring for patients and families. I think about a range of obstacles that healthcare workers currently face and wonder how they manage their own unsettling feelings. But finding a straight forward path through all of this is not an option and we are left with series of questions about the outcome.

I have a difficult time choosing one of Mr. Pakdel’s pictures as my favorite. But I find the image showing healthcare workers entering a maze is illustrative of the immense complexity we’re facing. Once again, I see a lesson in this about beauty and fragility of life. In this illustration, I am reminded that this may be a long journey for us and we can help one another by finding our new normal. It would require us to be genuinely understanding with ourselves and one another.

Often I ask myself, “How can I ease our way into finding our path forward in this maze?”

Editor’s note: Iranian artist Alireza Pakdel created a collection of pictures honoring the heroic and at times heartbreaking work of medical teams. He posted the collection on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alirezapakdel_artist/