Hearts of Gold

So, if you are not familiar with my background… once upon a time I was hit by lightning.  No, seriously.  I was.  Now I will spare you the details but needless to say that meant a lot of time for me in and out of hospitals for various tests, overnight stays, check-ups and routines.  August of this year will mark 10 years since my unfortunate accident, but there are many things that will remain with me forever.

The events of the day leading up to and including that fateful evening are fuzzy as well as many of the things immediately following.  So what do I remember?  I remember having some of the most amazing healthcare providers for one of the darkest times in my life.  The struggle with seizure activity, memory loss, depression and weight gain was overwhelming and each trip to the hospital made me feel like I was losing complete control of my life.  I could have easily slipped through the cracks and been resigned to being a medicated mess.  But I wasn’t.  No matter how bad I felt, how out of it I was or how cranky I could get, there was always a nursing smiling back at me and telling me it was going to be OK.  They were always there with blankets, food, or just a soothing touch and gentle smile to help me make it through.  I was granted a second chance, a new outlook and a fresh start after all I went through and there was a nurse there every step of the way.

While I did not have to face certain death, many of those I’ve loved in my life have.  My life changing event came a few months after losing my aunt Angie.  She lost her 6 year battle with breast cancer at the age of 34.  She spent the last year of her life medicated and spent the last few months of her life in the care of a Hospice Nurse.  In the late stages of her illness, as she suffered the debilitating effects of brain tumors, she would often act out or imagine that her nurse was there to hurt her, steal her husband, steal her son or numerous other things.  It was heartbreaking to watch and I struggled so much with realizing it wasn’t really her saying all of those things.  Despite experiencing the yelling, the anger, and the deterioration of my aunt before her eyes, that nurse was by her side attending to her every need.  How one person could endure all of that and remain so strong was mind blowing.  To spend week in and week out watching people pass on and yet giving each and every one of them everything they could was the way of a hospice nurse.  Being there when all other hope was lost and giving the dying their dignity even in their final days was their way of life.  

When my mother was facing cancer and chemotherapy and radiation and needles galore, it was a nurse whose caring hand held hers through the treatments and the tears.  When my father was nearly killed in an industrial accident, it was a nurse who helped him get up out of bed every morning and held his hand as he slowly began to walk again.  When all seems lost or when we receive devastating news, it’s the nurses who are there to catch our tears and pick up the pieces.  

I spend my days teaching future nurses, and I see the compassion, the dedication and the love it takes to care for the ill and even the dying.  So this week, I raise my water bottle high to all of the nurses who devote their lives to others.  I advocate being proactive with your health and taking control of what you can, but accidents happen and you never know what life will throw your way.  This week, I am thankful that if/when the time comes that I must go to a doctor’s office or a hospital that there will be a nurse ready and willing to devote their time and energy into helping me get better.

This week, we celebrate National Nurses Week.  We celebrate those who devote their lives to being compassionate, caring, and loving to those they barely know.  We celebrate the long nights, endless rotations, and many sacrifices nurses make in order to make our illness just a tiny bit more bearable.  It truly is something to be celebrated.

Say thank you to the nurses in your life and if you are a nurse, give yourself a huge pat on the back.  You deserve it.  

**I also dedicate this post in loving memory of my late aunt Amy who tragically lost her life in an automobile accident at the age of 31.  She devoted her life to being a Hospice Nurse and she is truly missed.**