When the very wonderful guys at Fire Station 26 told me that they thought they really needed to take me to Highline Medical Center in Burien, I thought, "How embarrassing. Here I am in my polka dot, flannel jammies and no makeup!"

However, as I watched my last ounces of blood being collected in the myriad of color-coded tubes, I gained a better perspective of Christmas - what it was and what it isn't.

Whether you believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ or you think we evolved from microbes in a pond, you have to admit that Christmas is a magical time of year. It seems to be the one holiday that we all get to cry out "King's X!" and be nice to one another.

We send cards to people that we haven't contacted in months and we try to look kindly on those we flat-out never liked, those we find odd, as well as the lonely and downtrodden.

Most of the people in my ward were seniors, as was my roommate - we'll call her Eleanor. I watched her kids come to visit and she showed me her monkey pillow that a grandchild gave her, because she was ordered to eat lots of bananas for its potassium!

I wondered, 'What would this place look like on Christmas, if there were no families visiting? Do the patients just lay in bed searching for a Christmas movie to remind them of the joys of the holiday, as they wait for the next blood-letting?'

Then came my answer in the form of a little 5'2" nurse's aide, by the name of Jane. She pattered past my bed, with a big smile, and headed over to check in on my roommate. Eleanor always had plenty to talk about and Jane was always pleased to listen and give encouragement.

The first thing I honed in on was Jane's broken accent and a wise look in her eyes. So, when she came to examine me, I took the opportunity to do my own examination.

Her family history is too long to get into, but Jane ended up being born in Dutch New Guinea and was the oldest girl in a family of nine children, so she learned her care-giving skills at a very early age.

"My father was a police officer, whose job was to stop the headhunters from gathering more heads for their huts," she said casually. I asked her why they wanted the heads, in the first place. She said, "It just made you like the big man and everyone respected you for it."

However, headhunters weren't the only threat, as they nearby jungles also had tree people with poisonous darts and cannibals. If that wasn't enough, the house servants would have to check the bedrooms each night to remove the pythons and other poisonous snakes that would crawl in through the roof openings.

When I asked her about Christmas, she said that the missionaries taught them about Christ, but prior to that they celebrated St. Nicolas Day on Dec. 5th. "He would ride in on a horse with Piets around him. The Piets would search for the bad kids and we believed the story that those kids would be tied up in gunnysacks, taken out on a ship and dumped in the ocean. We stayed good, I'll tell ya." she smiled and laughed.

She went on to tell me that the good kids would put one of their shoes out on Christmas Eve, and good ol' St. Nick would tuck in a gift that they would find in the morning. Needless to say, those with bigger feet were probably hoping for something bigger!

I can't even begin to tell you all of her great stories about her pet wild boar, kangaroo or her current pet turtle, Godzilla.

How does all of this tie into Christmas? Well, Jane will be spending both Christmas Eve and Christmas with the patients at Highline. When I asked her how she felt about it, she said, "It's special to be with them. That's the way I look at it. The employees and patients are like family to me."

Jane has this effervescence about her and a smile that's wider than she is tall. I asked her about her great attitude and she said, "My mother taught me not to compare myself to anyone else, so I pass that on to others, so they can be content with what they have."

I feel a bit cheated that I don't get to spend Christmas with her, but after all the tests were completed, it seems that I just crashed 'n' burned from not getting enough rest, poor eating, too much coffee and stress.

So, basically, just being a typical American.

And as 2010 comes to a close, I offer you a blessed Christmas and contented New Year.