Category: Nursing Stories

GETTING ON THE BUS Part 2 of 2

During the first week, after I wrestled with the monitor to find a comfortable position in bed, I settled into sleep. My heart, booming loudly in my ears, jarred me awake. I pressed the record button and the monitor gave off a high-pitched sound and began taping. As instructed, I lay still. When the whining…… Continue reading GETTING ON THE BUS Part 2 of 2

WRITER IN RESIDENCE

I spent part of last week at the Weymouth Center in Southern Pines, North Carolina working on my memoir. There was a sign on the door, DO NOT ENTER, WRITER IN RESIDENCE, which led to the hallway where I and another writer had accommodations. My room was the Paul Green room and the second was the Thomas…… Continue reading WRITER IN RESIDENCE

GET ON WITH LIFE

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.  ~C. Northcote Parkinson, 1958 This Tuesday I leave for a four-day stay at a writer’s center not far from my home. As an act of desperation, I will seclude myself with my manuscript and concentrate on incorporating changes that have been percolating in…… Continue reading GET ON WITH LIFE

COLD CLINICAL FACTS

Four women in my Wednesday evening non-fiction workshop graciously agreed to be my beta-readers and look over my manuscript during a two week break, following suggestions outlined by our leader, Carol Henderson. What Carol stressed, among other things, was not to get bogged down with spelling and formatting but look for flow, bumps and where…… Continue reading COLD CLINICAL FACTS

THE TIME IS RIGHT

A friend deliberated whether she should visit her father for his 95th birthday. She was swamped with commitments. Since he was unaware of his birthday as well of his surroundings and didn’t even recognize his three daughters, there was no urgency to travel to another state. However, she cleared her schedule and made the trip,…… Continue reading THE TIME IS RIGHT

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Originally posted on Write Along with Me:
As she lay dying from pancreatic cancer, Nurse Martha Keochareon wanted to do more than plan her funeral. So she called her alma mater and offered to become a “case study” for nursing students. She reasoned she could help students learn about the dying process while, at the…

SILENT NO MORE

When will nurses cease to be invisible? The web site The Truth About Nursing discusses an article about Hillary Clinton’s hospitalization in which the author did not make one reference to nursing (MatthewLee, “Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot,” Bloomberg Businessweek, December 31, 2012 *). The Truth About Nursing suggests if Clinton needed to be…… Continue reading SILENT NO MORE

LOVE OF FOOD

As I continue editing my book (I’m a tiny bit behind schedule), I am adding more food references. Food has always had a hold on me. Growing up in both Italian and Polish traditions, the fabric of my childhood was knitted with gustatory delights. Food meant comfort and caring. One repast I’ll never forget was…… Continue reading LOVE OF FOOD