Week 3

What was I like as a child?
Physically- allergies. That's what I remember! I was allergic to almost everything...couldn't even play out in the grass without breaking out in hives. Other than that I was pretty healthy. I had the usual childhood illnesses, plus surgery on my ears and then I had my appendix out when I was 10 or so.
Mentally- I was always a smart child. (smart mouthed I'm sure some would say!) I could read well by the time I was 3 and I always got good grades in school.
Emotionally- lost. My mother was an alcoholic and while I did live with her on and off, I also spent time living with my grandparents and an assortment of aunts and uncles.
Spiritually- my grandparents always took me to church and Sunday school while I lived with them. When I lived with my mother during grade school I used to "surf" churches on Sunday... one Sunday I'd go to the Lutheran church, the next week Methodist, the next week Catholic, etc. This gave me a smattering of understanding of all the major religious brands found in the Midwest.

Where did I live and what was it like?
I was born in California and lived there for 18 months. Obviously I have no recollections of that! At 18 months my grandparents stepped in and brought me to live with them in Seattle. We lived in a fairly large house in North Seattle/Shoreline. I remember the back yard being HUGE, but when I drive by the house now the yard is pretty standard... but my grandparents filled it with swingsets, monkey bars, slides, even a playhouse. It was fully fenced and a great place to play. When my mother came back into my life, we moved to Tacoma, then to South Dakota where I lived in various small towns and on farms for 5 years. It was very hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but all in all it was a good place for a child without much supervision. Crime was very low there and as kids we would spend entire days outside. Around 7th grade I moved back to the Northwest and have lived as far north as Smokey Point and as far south as Enumclaw.

Who were the important people in my life?
My grandparents, particularly my grandmother, and my sister.

Why were these people important to you?
My grandparents were important to me because they were my rocks in the swirling seas of my mothers alcoholism. My sister was important to me because she was family... we had been separated when I was 18 months old. I lived with our grandparents, she was eventually adopted from my mother by my mothers brother and his wife.

What other influences were important in your childhood?
I couldn't help but be influenced by my mothers alcoholism. She was not a bad person, but in retrospect I believe she suffered from bipolar disorder which was compounded by drinking. She was married 9 times, with 4 of those marriages happening during the 5 years I lived with her. I decided at a very young age that drinking would not play a part in my life, and that many people were not to be trusted. I still struggle with the trust issue, though I am happy to say that I've never had a drinking problem!

What were some of the rules for living I learned?
From my grandparents I learned that by working hard you can get the material things that you want and to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. They also instilled in me the idea that I could be whatever I wanted to be, if I only tried hard enough. From my mother I learned not to trust, but I also learned compassion and caring.

Why did I want to become a nurse?
Sadly enough, I don't have one of those "I've wanted to be a nurse since I was a small child" stories! As a teenager I wanted to be a doctor, but that didn't work out. I spent 16 years working in business before I was laid off, and then spent a couple of years being a stay at home mom. I started to get bored and decided I would go back to school, with the idea of becoming a radiology tech. Once I was in school I discovered that the waiting list for the radiology tech program was very long so I looked at my options and ended up applying to nursing school.

Who were some of the important people in my life during my professional education?
Dr. Elliott Stearn. Elliott was my Anatomy and Physiology instructor at EVCC. I don't know how he does it, but he simply inspires his students to be the best they can be. My husband was also vital to my success in nursing school. He not only supported me and my children financially, but he poured a lot of effort into becoming my one man cheering squad when my stress levels would build up! Without his love and support I don't think I could have made it through nursing school. Last, but certainly not least was my grandmother. She was very proud of the fact that I was going to school and she never hesitated to praise me and reassure me that I would finish school and be a great nurse. Unfortunately she passed away just a couple of weeks before I started my final quarter of nursing school.

What is important now in your practice and the ways you choose to work?
One thing that is important to me is that I do a thorough and competent job while at work. Errors will happen, I know that, but I want to make sure that I learn from my mistakes so they don't happen again. What I think is most important to me is that I convey to all my patients the fact that I really do care about them and what they are going through while they are in my care. I feel that patient advocacy is probably the most vital component of being a nurse. Many of my elderly patients don't realize that they have options, such as the right to refuse a treatment if they so choose. They also tend to feel helpless, and by giving them choices I feel that I am giving them back a measure of control over their situation.

What, if any, childhood rules for living have been transferred into your adult work life?
The number one I think is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I treat my patients the way that I would like to be treated were I in the hospital. I give them respect and I do everything I in my power to convey to them that I care about their situation. If they ask for something, I do my utmost to make sure they get it in a prompt manner. I enter their room with a smile and I give out hugs if they seem to be needed. Reflected in that is also the compassion and caring I learned from taking care of my mother all those years ago. Even if someone is in the hospital because of their own actions, (smokers with COPD, alcoholics with hepatic encephalopathy), they deserve to be treated with caring and respect, just like anyone else.