She walked into the room and directly to the bedside of my patient. She made eye contact, smiled, made sure the blanket was covering his shoulders. She told him she was going to be his night shift nurse, and reassured him that she would take good care of him. She winked at him and gently touched his hand. Then, the nurse taking over for me walked over to the corner of the room where our patient's wife sat. She was crying, scared, anxious, had not gotten much rest, and had just made the most difficult decision in her life. She had signed her husband onto hospice. The nurse got down on her knees on the floor in front of our patient's wife. I'll never forget it. She knelt on that filthy ICU floor, because at that moment the most important people in the world were her ... View Post
Removing My Badge
I want to tell you a story. It's a story about my friend - my MICUBFFAW, and how she influenced me, and my patient care. Several years ago our unit manager assigned each Registered Nurse a "Medical Intensive Care Unit Best Friend Forever At Work." My particular MICUBFFAW and I just happen to still work on our floor, and I still tease her, "Hey - MICUBFFAW!" One day, I heard a story about my MICUBFFAW, and I heard it from a patient's wife. I can't recall the details of this patient's illness or the circumstances surrounding their hospitalization. But I remember the patient, I remember that he suffered from dementia, and I remember that his darling wife had the neatest Scottish accent ever. She visited us several days after her husband's discharge and brought home made ... View Post
Hey God – Move Over!
Getting my grandson to sit still on my lap and snuggle him is one of my favorite things to do these days. Owen is growing so quickly, becoming independent, crawling around and getting into all sorts of things. Having raised two of my own, I'm keenly aware of the need to seize every one of these snuggling opportunities I can because, as they say - TIME flies! Equally enjoyable are the moments I get to spend with Lyla on my lap, tickling her toes and telling make-believe stories. This morning, it was a traditional family song passed down three generations that I was singing for Owen while bouncing him on my knee when Lyla insisted Owen "move over" so she could also sit on my lap. "Move over!" she kept telling her brother. "Move over!" Bouncing them both on my knees over and over ... View Post
Single Mom Epic Urinal FAIL!
I've told this story at least five times in the past month or so, and finally decided it just needed to be a blog if for no other reason than to just make someone laugh today. And as an added bonus - so my sons won't forget it. We all need laughs to pass down generation to generation. So Rory and Ian - here you go! When you are a single mom and have your toddler sons around the clock 365 days a year, they kinda just do everything with you, including joining you in the bathroom stall in the ladies' room. It never seemed odd to them - it was just what we did. Take turns using the toilet, washing our hands. It was perfectly normal! It never occurred to me that the first trip into the men's bathroom without mom would be confusing. After all, they used the bathroom at ... View Post
Farewell, Antigonish!
(Little Thing #144/365): It's my last night here in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. All week long I've been taking notes, coming back to my room and doing some studying for work back home, but also taking some time to write down things I don't want to forget. Things I want my sons to know, to remember, to pass on. Some are stories, a few little songs or riddles, a couple of witty sayings we've laughed about all week - But ALL of it history. It's almost midnight. I've got to be up in just a few short hours, but I don't dare fall asleep before writing this down somewhere other than on my phone as notes. I'm full of emotion tonight. That's when my thoughts get recorded most accurately. So here's tonight's attempt. Childhood summers in Nova Scotia, three-day drives playing games in ... View Post
Where’s Your Treasure?
An unexpected flood in my basement, as well as a few random home repairs and maintenance this week has resulted in some expenses I hadn't really anticipated. A Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University fan - I've followed all the steps, prepared for emergencies, stashed the money away for such things, but never really WANTED to believe I might have to use it. It's really not very FUN to spend your money on repairs and replacements....... But that's what it's for. I went to bed disgusted I have to dig into that fund, but I woke up for some reason remembering a story - one of those stories I always seem to get when wearing my "school shoes" at work. It was one I needed to recall this morning. One I need to share. I once cared for a very wealthy, well known, and ... View Post
Put That In Your Pipe
I've heard it said - whatever it is you feel you need, or are lacking, give THAT away. Need some money? Find a way to be generous with yours. Need some groceries? Invite someone for dinner. Remember the story of the 5 loaves of bread that fed a crowd? Generosity always results in abundance. It just does. Feeling down? defeated? discouraged? Find someone to encourage. So that's why I'm here. Because today - I am discouraged. Over and over, God tells us to look back - to take a look at what He's done because it makes looking forward not only easier, but it makes us more joyful and expectant waiting on Him. I need to be able to do that today, so I'm looking back and sharing with you. So this, my friend - is for both of us. I was seven months pregnant with an ... View Post
I Love You, So Wash the Toilet & Scrub the Floor
I was reminded today, while talking to my friend who runs tilersplace.com, of a time when my sons were young, and I was trying desperately to raise them as best I could. Getting them to mind when they were toddlers wasn't really that difficult. Most times, they were glad to do as I asked, and they were happy when I was proud of them for doing whatever it was I'd asked them to do. But kids grow up. They make friends. They gather at playgrounds, and so help me God, they compare notes. And as my sons grew, their worlds and circle of friends became larger, and the doorbell rang more and more often. Saturday mornings the neighborhood kids would come around to gather them for football games, or just to run around and play outside in the fresh air. But there were chores ... View Post