This week is a special week….Happy Nurses Week!

 When I take a moment to reflect upon the many patients who have touched my heart I am overwhelmed with the privilege of being with patients in their time of need. I have been given opportunities to work with some of the most dedicated colleagues and together we have woven this unspoken bond between us that no matter how many years pass when we see each other we can laugh and cry over patients who have forever touched us.

For 17 consecutive years the nursing profession has been listed as number 1 on Forbes Most Trusted Professions! I can attest to standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest nurses the profession has to offer! On Facebook this week my fellow nurses have tagged me on many posts thanking each other for being such a great nurse and there are so many stories! I am so proud of so many of my colleagues and most people do not realize the extent of the job!

To give an example of how complex nursing can be I will take a walk down memory lane and bring you with me….

Trauma ICU about 14 years ago now…we had a young woman in her early 20’s come to the ICU in a dire predicament. She was 22 weeks pregnant with her first child and had a massive tumor growing in her lungs making it difficult for her to breathe. She made it clear that she wanted everything to be done for the safety of her baby.

Many specialists and tests later it had been decided that she had an incurable cancer. When her breathing would become more compromised, she would need to be intubated and once intubated we all knew she would never come off the ventilator, never be able to talk with her baby and would most likely die. We had to weave the balance of keeping her stable, keeping her informed of her health and the health of the baby. In addition to the health challenges – she was a new mom to be! We wanted to know her wishes, what she wanted for her sweet baby- whom the baby would go to, what did she want to name him, did she have any special requests.

We spent weeks monitoring this mom and baby in ICU – trying to get the baby developed and strong enough so that should the moms health status change for the worse he would have the best chance at surviving. During that time we learned this young woman really dreamed of marrying the father of the baby…well the nurses went to work and helped arrange justice of the peace to come into the ICU and we had a ceremony and made that dream a reality.

All the while the health of the mom was deteriorating and it became clear she would need to be intubated…the mom knew all along what being intubated meant. The nurses caring for her that day recorded her speaking to her baby and she said her goodbyes to her family as it was clear once the baby was born she would likely not survive. The nurses that day held her hand, encouraged her and kept her wish of taking the best care of her new baby. Not long after being intubated the baby showed signs of stress with heart rate changes…the moment had come. The nurses wheeled her to the operating room where a c-section was performed. Nurses were there to care for the new baby and to care for the mom.

The nurses balanced the joy and sadness and kept the wishes of the mom in all they were doing. My nursing colleagues balanced health care and personal care and I have witnessed this so many times!

Our patients touch our hearts and we touch each other by helping, teaching, mentoring, coaching, cheering and comforting.

A quote I love about nursing by Rawsi Williams…”To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through, that is to be a NURSE.” 

To celebrate Nurses Week we have a special offer of our most popular and loved Custom Facial for only $60 …to all my fellow nurses come relax and know you are appreciated!