Archive for July, 2008
Way back when….1930
Memories
Today there was an event that brought back a memory from a few years ago. It happened while working in the back office of a clinic. (HIPPA will be adhered, names and dates, exact details changed to protect everyone involved.)
I was working as a medical assistant and checking in patients. As always I asked the patient what she had come in for. Her chart marked her visit as “personal” and I knew my doctor would want more information than that.
She informed me that she was having some irregular bleeding after having an abortion. She was the most composed person I had ever met, especially since she had just been through a life changing ordeal. She wasn’t teary, didn’t seem ashamed or embarrassed. I have to admit that I was a little uncomfortable with both of those facts. My own ability to stand pro-choice had never been tested.
She was our last patient of the day, so since it was a very short visit, I was pleased to be able to get out of the office on time.
When leaving the clinic I ran into her again. She was crying in the parking lot, and I walked past her in a hurry hoping she wouldn’t stop me. Our eyes met, and I nodded and she said to me, “I finally felt it, its really real.”
I sat with her for a few minutes, listened to her story. Her reasons were understandable, she had a degree to finish, one that was almost within her reach. She had sacrificed everything to get to that degree and now with end in sight she got pregnant. She knew that if she stayed pregnant she would never finish school, and all that sacrifice and hard work would have been for nothing.
She said that she felt selfish. She said that she knew God was angry with her. I was much younger then, and I had no wisdom of lost pregnancies or worldly advice to give her. She was in need of something and all I had to give then was the comfort of a simple embrace. I still pray that it was enough.
But Today I feel like I gave that woman what she needed. Maybe it wasn’t that same woman, the circumstances may have been very different, the setting may have been completely off, but the underlying despair and sadness was the same. The fear of God, the worry over a difficult choice. Today I helped. Today I was able to comfort, embrace and even provide a little support for a woman in a similar situation.
“God knows your heart.”
Today that woman gave me confidence, I can be a nurse. I have the compassion and understanding to help others even when I dont know the answer. I can listen, and my own life experiences however brief can make a difference in someone elses life.
Today I felt it, today it was real for me. I am going to be a nuse.
“God knows your heart.”
Costs and supplies
So today I called the RN advisor to ask questions about the program.
She said that we will find out all the information that we need to know at the information session/potluck in late August. I guess I will just have to wait until August to figure out the cost of everything.
I have my handy dandy stethoscope, and lots of scrubs (although Im sure that they arent the required color) but I need a new watch. And then Im sure there are tons of other things that I will need to purchase.
I did get my new laptop, and that is going to make everything so much easier!
Im so nervous!
I cant get you out of my head!
The begining
Today I received the shock of a lifetime, I got accepted to RN school.
Starting this fall I will be a wife, part time employee, and full time student nurse.
Join me on the journey, it’s sure to be an exciting ride!
