I Never wanted to be a Nurse

As I was growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher. I think it was merely due to the fact that I thought it would be neat to decorate my classroom each year, but nonetheless, when people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d answer with that.

After I got sick, I heard over and over again – “Why don’t you become a nurse?”

I’m sure that’s what many kids hear if they have dealt with major illnesses during their youth.
Some kids do go on to become nurses and doctors and they are fantastic at their craft because they can relate to their patients using their own experiences.

I, on the other hand, never really had the desire to become a nurse.

My mother is an RN, and a fabulous one at that! Before having children, she was an air evac nurse before “Life Flight” existed. She worked her tail off to earn her Masters degree in Nursing and worked long hours, even after I was born. During my youth, she worked in Same Day surgery and my siblings and I grew up visiting her office and befriending her co-workers. Several years ago, she made the bold move to become a Nursing instructor. There was a learning curve to it, as it was much different from her past work, but she mastered it right away and remains a staple in the college’s Nursing department.

I have much admiration for nurses. Their job is to provide care in some very tough situations. As a patient, you always hope for a great nurse, but truth be told there can be some stinkers out there. The majority of them, however, have the most gentle heart and genuinely care for the well-being of their patients.
So when people said to me, ‘You could be a nurse with everything you’ve been through,’ I didn’t take it lightly.

It was a compliment to be told that I would fit in well
among such wonderful women and men.

I probably know more medical terminology than the average person – ask me about a fistula or hemoglobin or tachycardia and I will spout off a sonnet.  The topic of my 8th grade science project was about how a hemo-dialysis machine worked.  But it’s been exciting for me to learn about all of these things!

When people are diagnosed with an illness, I think it is important to understand the terms associated with it and to learn more about your disease.  As nurses will tell you, for they know all too well, some people go overboard – searching on the internet and believing everything they read; some, on the other hand, don’t learn enough and don’t seem to be interested in what’s going on.  And then there are those who fall in the middle of that spectrum – not extreme but not naive.  Nurses have the patience to deal with individuals all along this spectrum and that is an achievement all in its own!

My life has been blessed with knowing, and being cared for by, some absolutely wonderful nurses!  From the moment that I had my seizure in 2001 through the oncology nurses that hooked up my final chemotherapy on December 11, I have so many things to be thankful for – and I owe that to my nurses!
They have shared laughs with me and cried tears with me ~
they have served as a comfort in my best and worst times.

There is a week throughout the year designated to celebrate nurses and it’s wonderful to honor them extra specially that day, but it’s important to remember how hard they work – how much time they spend away from their families to care for our families.  When people are at their worst, nurses have to be at their best  – and sometimes that’s not easy to do.  The next time you are cared for by a nurse, remember to thank them,
because I’m sure they don’t hear it as often as they should.

To my nurses throughout the years ~ thank you for being there, for the good times and the bad.
You have left a mark on my heart that will forever stay.