Reflections of a Nurse

It's Nurses' Week this week... so I thought it might be appropriate to share some reflections of a nurse.

Thirteen years ago I became a registered nurse. I had just started working at Children's Hospital on the surgical and burn unit. I loved what I was doing (and was finally getting paid to do it). I'd always wanted to become a missionary nurse and was getting some experience so that I could go and do that. A couple months prior to my graduation I'd heard about a trip going to Kosovo. I had no clue where Kosovo was but I'd signed up for the trip and was going. I was fresh out of university and going to save the world! Little did I know how nursing and my trip to Kosovo would shape my life (but that is a story for another day).

A lot has changed since starting my nursing career. I've had the privilege of serving as a nurse on four continents. I've been a nurse in a little village in the middle of the Sahara Desert and a pediatric intensive care unit in a large city. I've primarily worked with kids and their families and have worked on almost every inpatient unit at Children's Hospital. While I've worked as a bedside nurse for most of my career, I've also been a school nurse and an informatics nurse. I've experienced the joys of working alongside some pretty amazing families. (Most days) I love being a nurse!

I've also had some difficult and ugly experiences. I think of the mom whose baby died during childbirth. I think of the girl who battled anorexia and her family who struggled alongside her. I think of two couples who so faithfully & lovingly cared for their sons with severe disabilities and harsh prognoses. I think of the infant who had old fractures lying alone in the crib cringing at being cuddled or touched. I've come home from the hospital broken, in tears, and completely devastated by what I've seen, heard, and felt.

Nurses carry a heavy responsibility & precious burden... and nurses aren't only taking care of others' loved ones in vulnerable situations. There was the nurse whose mother was ill and lived far away... the nurse who struggled to support her family while her husband was in between jobs... the nurse who was taking her mom to chemo... the nurse who was going through a rough divorce... the nurse who found out she was unexpectedly pregnant... the nurse who had been given a life changing diagnosis... the nurse who had spent hours in the ER with their own child... the nurse who had a near death experience... and the list goes on and on.

So the next time you meet up with a nurse, ask them how they're doing... and truly mean it. Find out something about them. Ask them what they love about their job. Compliment them on something you value that they've done or been to you. Impact their lives by praying for them. Write them a note of thanks. Love on them.

To all of the nurses in my life -- to my friends & family, to the colleagues that I've worked with past and present around the world, to the ones who helped me get to my cancer diagnosis and the ones who are helping me live a longer life with my cancer -- thank you for what you do. Thank you for making an impact in the lives of so many people each day. You will never know all of the amazing things you do to make life a little (or a lot) better for those around you. I am truly blessed to have you in my life. Happy Nurses' Week!