[DragonflyLVN]

First off, congratulations on making it through school and second, I too admire your determination in following your dream.

I was diagnosed in 2003 with a brain tumor that destroyed a portion of my skull and was attatched to my brain stem and spinal cord. I underwent a subtotal resection and 40 proton beam radiation treatments.

While I am currently disease free, I suffer from the combined effects of surgery and radiation. Let's just say you can't poke around near the cranial nerves and not mess things up a bit. The radiation, given at the highest dose they could dole out due to the residual tumor, has killed off my anterior pituitary.

I found out about the the tumor the day after taking my LVN boards. However, I've continued to work towards my goal of RN despite the hurdles. I'd be graduating this summer from the ADN program I got into (LVN to RN bridge) but we're military and moved last summer. I'm busy reapplying now in our new state. Yeah!!!

The issue of deficits isn't an issue if you're up front, in my experience. My employers have been more than understanding about whatever issues I had going on...co-workers too. I have intermittent diplopia, slight hearing loss in both ears, I fatigue easily and then there are the ever present follow up appointments with specialists. The medications I have to take (topamax, in particular) make me feel like I'm pushing thoughts through a strainer...but I get by.

But I come to work, I do my job and I'm trying...which makes me feel like I'm working towards something. I'm also showing my kids that when things don't work out the way we've planned or something bad happens...it doesn't mean game over, KWIM?

Good luck with the new job and you're in my thoughts and prayers!

[Franemtnurse]

Originally Posted by DragonflyLVN

First off, congratulations on making it through school and second, I too admire your determination in following your dream.

I was diagnosed in 2003 with a brain tumor that destroyed a portion of my skull and was attatched to my brain stem and spinal cord. I underwent a subtotal resection and 40 proton beam radiation treatments.

While I am currently disease free, I suffer from the combined effects of surgery and radiation. Let's just say you can't poke around near the cranial nerves and not mess things up a bit. The radiation, given at the highest dose they could dole out due to the residual tumor, has killed off my anterior pituitary.

I found out about the the tumor the day after taking my LVN boards. However, I've continued to work towards my goal of RN despite the hurdles. I'd be graduating this summer from the ADN program I got into (LVN to RN bridge) but we're military and moved last summer. I'm busy reapplying now in our new state. Yeah!!!

The issue of deficits isn't an issue if you're up front, in my experience. My employers have been more than understanding about whatever issues I had going on...co-workers too. I have intermittent diplopia, slight hearing loss in both ears, I fatigue easily and then there are the ever present follow up appointments with specialists. The medications I have to take (topamax, in particular) make me feel like I'm pushing thoughts through a strainer...but I get by.

But I come to work, I do my job and I'm trying...which makes me feel like I'm working towards something. I'm also showing my kids that when things don't work out the way we've planned or something bad happens...it doesn't mean game over, KWIM?

Good luck with the new job and you're in my thoughts and prayers!

very inspiring!!!!

[Franemtnurse]

Originally Posted by sunnydaydream

I'm not a nurse yet, but as long as I pass this last semester I will have my ADN in December and be ready to sit for boards. Only 11 weeks left!

I was dx'd with a brain tumor in 2002. Anaplastic Astrocytoma grade III, had surgery and chemo and went through a lot to be as cognitive and able as I am at this date. In May of this year I had a regular MRI and ever since have been dealing with a recurrence and am currently doing chemo and holding off on surgery until I get out of school. My biggest problem right now is nausea during chemo week, fatigue *all the time* (but who isn't fatigued from nursing school?!), and I have noticed that my word finding ability is starting to deteriorate again along with some short-term memory problems.

I've been to this date an A student. Yet, this semester I'm finding it harder and harder to concentrate on studies and have been getting B's on my tests. In clinical I am able to hold it pretty well together aside from chemo week when I'm just washed out, yet I still do what I have to do and no one has really commented on a decline in clinical skills. The chair of the program knows what I am going through along with my three best buddies in the program, and my clinical instructor. My clinical instructor had graded me for three weeks before I told her about my issues (and I wouldn't have told her aside from the fact I was having a super bad day and was in the bathroom a lot) so I feel that her assessment of saying that clinically I was very competent and able to do the job was sincere.

I guess my question is this: is it possible to be a good nurse in critical care (what I really want) if I have cognitive deficits? I am aware of these deficits and have found ways around them and I know that you don't have to tell your employer about any disability unless it affects your ability to do the job (right?) yet my biggest fear is that I hurt someone in the process of trying to be in a field that I really want. I don't want to be greedy and I don't want to give anything up that I don't have to.

Who knows perhaps I'll never have to worry about these questions(maybe I'll hit the lottery or something!) but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Know you are setting an excellent example of really trying to do what you love. I admire you for that. I also have a lot of memory loss and can't for the life of me remember peoples' names, and now it has spread to other names like names of ordinary things. I have no idea why, I just know I have it. I am on a lot of medications, and do blame a lot of it on them and on the fact that I did have a mild CVA twice. Other than that, I have no idea what is going on. But I take one day at a time and go from there. Know you are setting an excellent example of what fortitude is all about.