"Touched by a kind act"

My daughter was unwell, and was referred to the paediatricians by her GP. I cannot fault the GP surgery (who gave us an appointment only an hour after phoning) or ward 15 (who were thorough and compassionate), but the thing that touched me most came from an unexpected direction.

After being starved all day just in case, when we were cleared by the paediatrician to go, my daughter felt a little peckish. I took her to the canteen, but in that way when you are poorly, she was struggling to decide what she wanted to eat. Suddenly, we were approached by a member of the catering team (I am so sorry not to have caught her name) who saw my daughter's dilemma, and she said "would you just like me to get you a couple of fish fingers?" - which weren't on the menu.

It turned out that this was just the comfort food my daughter fancied. The staff member took our payment and sat us down, then shortly brought the meal over to our table so we didn't even have to stand and wait for it.

I have a little insider knowledge, and I know the catering staff are real unsung heroes, always going to that extra effort when a poorly person needs something that isn't on  the menu; but I was still taken aback by the thoughtful gesture extended yesterday. After a tiring day, I couldn't find enough words to express how touched I was.