Patient Care Story - Christina
Christina spent two months by her mother’s bedside at SJHC, which inspired her to completely change her career path. She is now a student in the Practical Nursing program at Cambrian. The following is a journal entry that Christina shared with us:
Journal #1
Today when we worked in partners to introduce each other, I told my partner about my mother's unexpected illness that lasted months, during which I spent many hours every day in the hospital with her, and which led me to pursue a career in nursing. It took me back to that time, and reminded me of observing the finely tuned teamwork and constant nurturing and care that all of the nurses gave to my mother, myself, and my family, and it reaffirmed my choice.
I learned through this experience that I was empathetic, in the sense that I was constantly thinking of ways to make my mother as comfortable as possible, since she was not able to do this for herself. In that time, I absorbed every detail I could from the myriad of nurses who took care of my mother: I learned quickly, because I had to. I needed to know what the machines were saying, what the beeps meant, what was going into her veins. I was curious about every procedure, and eventually, the nurses let me stay through some of them. (I am sure I drove them a little mad!) In the interim, I left my job, my husband, and my life. I dropped everything, and some things suffered. I tend to immerse myself in the project at hand, to the detriment of my personal life. Balance is where I need work.
The one thing I assumed through this was that my mother would get well, and she did, thanks to expert care as well as love and prayer from her family and friends. Though she does not remember much of the experience, it changed me in profound ways. To this day, I remember what an inspiration the ICU nursing team at St. Joe's in Toronto was, and it still brings me to tears. I got to know them very well, as they did me. One day, France, a Respiratory Therapist with whom I had become buddies, said to me as I came in, "So, do you want an application?” I silently thought, “Well, yes. I do.” So now, almost exactly one year later, here I am.