Working Woman

It has been a long two days of orientation. See, you might have thought from the exciting posts the last couple weeks that my life is actually exciting, but usually it is just the same old day in and day out. Which is also good. The last two days I have been orienting to my new job. I have teared up several times, but I am glad to say it is not because i am overwhelmed, it is because I am so touched but the things I've seen and heard in orientation. They show these really touching movies about nurses who touch peoples lives through what they like to call the "healing connection". This is the movie that really got me crying. After this movie we were talking about how it is that special effort, your touch, that special connection you make that makes people feel that they are not only being taken care of, but they are cared for. At orientation I shared a little bit of my story and why I became a nurse, so now you get it...

Almost seven years ago my brother, Brady, started getting headaches and after several weeks of this was admitted to the pediatric unit. He was thirteen at the time. He was diagnosed with viral meningitis and encephalitis and was life flighted up to a children's specialty hospital after a few days. During our time there the nurses who cared for us were amazing. I remember getting a little stuffed fabric doll in a hospital gown. They explained to us the different tubes and machines Brady would be hooked up to and let us practice putting in IV's on our fabric dolls. They made a poster all about Brady's favorite things and gave him a batman blanket to keep. I say these nurses cared for "us" instead of my brother because while they did provide all the physical care my brother required, they were also there for "us", his family. My brother had a hard few days in the hospital and unfortunately on October 26, 2005 passed away and returned to our Heavenly Father. It was a very hard time for my family and I, but was made much easier because the of the special way the nurses had helped us out during this difficult time. This experience taught me so many things and also gave me the desire to be a nurse. I didn't just want to fix peoples boo boos though, I wanted to be the nurse who people remembered because she made such a hard time in their life a positive one. I wanted to be the kind of nurse that no matter what the patient was going through, their day was brighter because I was there to be compassionate and help them out and care for the person instead of just their body. So now I am a nurse, on labor and delivery. While this is usually a very happy place, it can also be a very sad place. I love that either way I can be the nurse who makes this once in a life time experience special for them. I love that my actions will have an impact on the experiences they will remember for the rest of their lives, and I want to make those good experiences. If my patients do have to deal with difficult circumstances, I want to be a nurse they can rely on. I want them to be able to ask me questions and lean on me for support and know that I will care for them, that I am there for them. I want to touch people's lives the way my life was touched by nurses I barely knew, who made a time of great suffering easier because of their care, because of their love.

This is the last school picture we have of Brady. We sure love him and miss him.

Nursing is truly learning the healer's art. It is learning to heal the mind body and spirit. This talk and it's message encompasses some of what I feel about the privilege and joy I have in learning and practicing the healer's art.