[AuthorRDK]

I believe it was during a trip to South Carolina that I met her for the first time, maybe a week or two after I met my wife. I had been told that she had had some very difficult teenage years. She turned a little rebellious for a while and became involved in one of those ordeals “but I really love him momma” kind of things. Two children later she seemed to calm down a bit and began attending a nursing school in Charleston, South Carolina.

As the years passed, I sat and watched as she divorced and then remarried taking on the responsibility of two more children, one of them handicapped and wheelchair ridden, because of Cerebral Palsy.

Over the next ten years, I continued to write and published books and stories on child abuse. I read many articles about young girls in similar situations who did not feather well under such difficult circumstances, articles which depressed me greatly.

In spite of life hardships, and the responsibility of four children, she continued on through nursing school becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse, then a Registered Nurse and finally, after being involved in an automobile accident, and almost losing her leg, she continued on to graduate with a degree ( MSN, APRN, BC-FNA) as a Physician’s Assistant.

On Saturday, my wife and I will be leaving for a family reunion, seven day vacation, at Lake Marion in Santee South, Carolina. It is there I will meet up with my step-daughter, Penny Marie Muckenfuss, her husband and my grandchildren. At that time I shall proudly ask her for her autograph.

Roger Dean Kiser, author

[mycatmax]

How awesome is that?!!!

[kizzykatlove]

wow .. gees what a awesome lady .. may God always bless you and your family. this goes to show you no matter what the circumstances you can make your dreams come true. never give up:hatparty:

[MotivatedLPNtoRN]

I am sure like myself,anyone who has or will read this post is sending praises your stepdaughters way.Thank you for a true life inspirational story.

[missdeevah]

Wow, I guess it really can be done. Congratulations to her. Love your writing style!

[Womankind]

What a touching story. Thank you for sharing it. Do you write a lot? Have you been published?

I too am a nurse-author.

And tell your step-daughter how proud we all (nurses) are of her!

[valkyria]

You know something,

I just thought about it when I saw a nurse on the elevator with one on. What happeded to the little hat with the pin? Wearing white is one thing but the little hat with a pin, that is a nurses gear. I had one preceptor in nursing school in one of my cinical rotations who would always have a hat on and she felt very strongly about it. I also find that LPNs do not get enough recognition. I have worked with some of the most wonderful LPNs and somedays I really miss them. The OLD SCHOOl nurses from hospital based programs, most have faded away. Those were the days when the focus was the patient and not the paperwork. That was the bain of my existence when I was a preceptor,"But I have to review the chart!" "Not for one hour my dear." They could not understand that until they got their own patient load and they had phones to answer and families to talk to and doctors to report to, you know, reality.

[URGR8T]

That was absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing