When I visited a patient in my caseload that lived in an “unsafe” part of the city, I went in the morning. Right after the pimps and drug dealers had called it a night and before the shop keepers pulled up the bars over the store windows and the women came out to sweep the…… Continue reading The Murder Building
Author: Marianna Crane
After a long career in nursing--I was one of the first certified gerontological nurse practitioners--I am now a writer. My writings center around patients I have had over the years that continue to haunt my memory unless I record their stories. In addition, I write about growing older, confronting ageism, creativity and food.
My memoir, "Stories from the Tenth Floor Clinic: A Nurse Practitioner Remembers" is available where ever books are sold.
Unsolved Mystery?
This happened long ago. I worked for a hospital-based home care program. We, nurse practitioners, received referrals from physicians who had exhausted all options to prolong the patients’ life. We visited the patient in his home and helped the family care for him until death. Traditional hospice services were not an option as yet. My…… Continue reading Unsolved Mystery?
Not Guilty
On my last post, I speculated that Betty, the wife of one of my patients, Mr. G, might have been plotting to do him in. Now my friend, co-worker at the time, Jane Van De Velde, writes that Mr. G was admitted to the hospital because his hemoglobin was very low and he died there.…… Continue reading Not Guilty
There Are Some Patients We Never Forget
When you have been a nurse as long as I have there are patients who take residence in your memories and resurface frequently. They could almost be family except they have a short history in your life. What they were like before or after you knew them usually remains a mystery. Mr. G was a…… Continue reading There Are Some Patients We Never Forget
Writing the Book
I’m writing a book. I’ve been writing this book for the past five years. Longer if you count the time I worked with a friend to co-author a book of nursing tales until I knew I had to take this journey alone. Add the amount of time it took for the book to take form…… Continue reading Writing the Book
Getting Older
I promptly lost my first Medicare card. When I opened the envelope and saw the red, white and blue border, I was reminded of the elderly I cared for over twenty years ago when I was a gerontological nurse practitioner. I ran a not-for-profit clinic in a converted one-bedroom apartment on the tenth floor of…… Continue reading Getting Older
Same Old New Year’s Resolutions
This year I hesitated to make any New Year resolutions. Why? Because for the last five years, at least, they remain the same: Write the book. Lose the weight. Exercise more. The only thing that changed was the pounds I wanted to drop. They increased yearly. Now it’s 20 pounds! I felt defeated. Depressed. But…… Continue reading Same Old New Year’s Resolutions
A Nurse’s Op-Ed in the New York Times
I’m putting off making a pumpkin pie for our Christmas dinner to share my delight upon reading Theresa Brown’s Op Ed piece, Looking for a Place to Die, in the New York Times this past Thursday. It’s a sad story but it shows how one nurse can make a difference. If you doubt the significance…… Continue reading A Nurse’s Op-Ed in the New York Times
Radio Interview
I was listening to my long time friend, fellow writer and nurse, Lois Roelofs being interviewed on the Laura Dion Jones Show from Illinois on WRMN 1410, last week. With my I-Pad up to my ear, I settled in a comfy chair in the living room of my daughter’s home in Raleigh. For the next…… Continue reading Radio Interview
Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted 