About Me

I have been a nurse for over forty years, working in hospitals, clinics, home care, and hospice settings.

In the 60s, I attended a traditional three-year diploma program and, in 1981, I completed a master’s degree in public health nursing and became one of the first ANA accredited gerontological nurse practitioners. Before then, unlike pediatrics, care of the elderly wasn’t considered a specialty.

My favorite work setting has been home care. On entering a stranger’s home, nurses never know what they’ll find—an empty fridge, filth, extreme isolation, a loving family or a fractured one. They rely on their skill and knowledge, what they packed in their nurse’s bag, and improvise the rest. Most important, they must develop a trusting relationship with the patient and family to achieve a positive outcome.

After retiring in 2004, I concentrated on writing—mostly about my life as a nurse—by taking classes, attending workshops and conferences, and joining a writing group.

I spent seven years working on a memoir: Stories from the Tenth-Floor Clinic: A Nurse Practitioner Remembers, which chronicles my challenges in caring for the underserved elderly who lived on the westside of Chicago.

My essays have appeared in The New York Times, Eno River Literary Journal, Examined Life Journal, Hospital Drive, Stories That Need to be Told, among others.

Now in my nineth decade, I’m still maintaining the blog, which focuses less about the nursing profession and my patients, and more about the surprises that growing older brings.

Since we are all aging from the moment we are born, I hope you can relate to my experiences and share your own thoughts and life challenges.

Thanks for stopping by.