I don't really understand why the magic potion that cured our Americans was not sent in gallons to the poor areas of Africa to cure those still suffering from Ebola. Instead Ebola hopped on a plane and wound up in Dallas Texas! I'm not quite sure I understand that either. Why have we let that happen? Why were we not more careful with our country?
Two of my colleagues are now infected with the Ebola virus. Two nurses I will never meet are fighting for their lives. I hope and pray they make it. Dallas Texas was not prepared for Ebola. The nurses had an unfair fight. No warnings. Just BOOM there it was! Sadly in hind sight it's obvious there were no protective protocols in place. No haz-mat suits or super strength protective gear to wear. No quarantines for the infected patient. I would guess It was just a typical shift and the nurses were just doing their jobs. If you are a nurse you know what that means!
I'm a nurse. It's what I do. It's who I am. So many years ago my dream was to become a nurse! I really didn't have a desire to go to college when I graduated from high school. I was sick of school. The thought of 4 more years was no where in my plan! I wanted to join the Navy and see the world on a ship! I wanted to be a Navy Nurse. My gypsy genes have always been with me! Sadly none of that worked out. I got married & had a baby instead. Not necessarily in that order but that's what happened! Don't judge it was the 70's!
Fast forward a few years to 1983. Johnny and I had three small children. We were broke! We were happy but we realized we needed careers. Without education, jobs with minimum wage pay wasn't enough. With a long term family goal in place we both signed up for college! Johnny had started college out of high school, joined the USMC and just needed to complete his degree. I never lost hope of my dream to become a nurse but I had to let the Navy go. I entered the University of South Alabama Mobile AL at age 28; a brand new freshman! Better late than never
It was a grueling 4 1/2 years but I finished. I graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing June 7, 1987! I honestly don't how I did it. I had a house to manage, a husband, 3 kids, 3 busy kids, a cat, a dog and a part time job! I studied at the ball fields. I studied at band practice. I studied on volleyball bleachers! I studied while I cooked supper and folded laundry. By this time we had moved from Mobile, AL to Birmingham. My parents lived in Opelika AL while all 3 of my siblings lived in different states. We kept the roads hot during school breaks to visit family! We took a family vacation once a year or two to Walt Disneyworld! We were still broke but somehow we managed what little bit of money we had very well! Somehow I stayed focused on my dream.
I have never regretted becoming a nurse. I have had a wonderful career. I have taken care of patients with every diagnosis that there is! Old patients young patients and every culture that God has created. To me there is no difference. I was called to be there. God has put me in the right place with the right patient every time.
I've had everything you can imagine spilled on me poured on me or bodily excreted on me! I'll spare the details of this part of my job! Ive had the sickest patients in the unit and I've had the ones that just like to hang out in the hospital! I've had patients and families that have tested my value system and several that needed a different nurse! I was simply not a match! It happens.
I've also had patients that have broken my heart and changed me forever. And some patients will be in my heart for the rest of my life. I have had the awesome experience of being responsible for saving someone's life. I have held hands with a little old lady as she took her last breath. Her family wasn't there. I've had mothers fall apart in my arms when the doctor delivered bad news and the dad had to leave the room. There have been more times than one where the only thing I could do was pray with devastated family members and ask God to give them the strength to take a breath and simply trust Him to make sense of the situation. I'll never understand why babies and children get Cancer. Never.
I've had so many blessings & witnessed so many miracles that I've lost count. I have been given gifts from sweet patients and enough precious hugs to last forever! With social media now I get texts with pictures! My favorite Disney Princess is a former little patient in her new Elsa dress complete with a long side braid wig because she has no hairI One holiday a certain little guy showed up at my house with his mom's home made candy! It was love at first sight with this boy! it's an understatement to say donuts and cookies are always appreciated! Seriously, being a nurse definitely has perks! I have never second guessed my career choice!
I imagine the nurses who took care of the Ebola patient could tell a very similar story. They chased a dream. They are dedicated nurses. They love their jobs. They love being a nurse. I hope they both realize they are front line heroes! I would guess they were probably busy trying to keep the aebola patient comfortable along with caring for their other patients. They probably did not complain about their assignment. They probably never had time to chart everything that happened or sign out all the meds and supplies they used. There might not have been time to drink a whole cup of hot coffee or to eat a whole lunch! Sometimes bathroom breaks can't come soon enough! They would probably tell you they never thought twice about any of that. They were busy taking care of the patient. I'm sure the goal was to save him from this awful disease. A disease they didn't know anything about. They know about it now and have thought of countless ways to do things better!
The Ebola virus has everyone's attention now. This virus is not something we can take lightly. The two nurses are not the ones responsible for spreading the virus. They are the ones who brought our vulnerability to this disease to the eyes of the world. It's going to take all of us to fight the battle. I imagine we will see many patients with this diagnosis. Every fever, cough, runny nose, upset stomach and every other ailment will be treated as Ebola! There will be education and vaccines and new medicines to prevent the spread of the virus! We will alienate ourselves from each other for a little while. If you don't feel good you must isolate yourself and stay home. No playing around with Ebola! Eventually we will make progress and hopefully we will cure this disease quickly. Look how far we have come fighting AIDS and cancer. Someday there will be an end to these diseases too. It takes all of us fighting and funding the research studies.
In the meantime the front line heros will keep doing what they have to do. The nurses will work with the education and equipment they are given and do the best they can. They will make sure they keep a close eye on simple things like vital signs and fevers. And they will pray for blessings and miracles. I'm not afraid of the Ebola virus. I'm willing to fight it and will keep my commitment to my calling. I'm honored to be part of a team of front line heros that do what they do to take care of people when they cannot take care of themselves. Im a nurse. That's what we do.
xoxo Grandmary
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