Im not a nurse yet...

Im not a nurse yet but, I have had a dream to be one every since I was a little girl and that dream has never faded. I have put off going to nursing school since I got out of high school due to various reasons such as, having children, money issues, and just life in general.. I have been a CNA previously and I would like to share a story or two that keeps that dream alive for me. I hope to start the nursing program within the next year or so..

First I was working in a hospital on a transitional care unit(hospice patients etc).. I was taking care of a patient who had terminal cancer he didnt have very much time to live. I just happened to get him as a patient one day and went in to introduce myself to him and his family. Things started off a bit rocky as most days he was aggravated and just mad at the world it seemed.. Little by little I gained his trust and starting providing care for him such as bathing, feeding, and just conversation. His face would always light up every time I would come into the room. We really hit it off. His family liked me as well. After a few weeks of care it got to the point where I was the only one he would allow to care for him. If I wasnt there his family helped him with whatever he needed. As the weeks progressed he got worse and started to just not make sense anymore. He always remembered me though.. One day I came in and he asked me if I still had my black trench-coat.. I just smiled and went along with him and told him yes I did still have it.. He just smiled and me and said I think you look very pretty in it.. I told him thank you and provided my daily care for him and told him I would be back to check on him later.. I grew close with this patient and looked forward to going to see him when I got on shift.. Over the next week things turned bad and he went into a coma. I still would go in and check on his family and still do my care and made sure I gave him excellent mouth care to make sure he didnt develop any sores or anything thing else. His family was always very happy to see me and thanked me time after time for the care I was providing for their father. They told me he always asked for only me and refused to let anyone else care for him which made me feel good about myself. Shortly after he passed away. It wasnt on my shift and was heartbroken when I came to work because he was already gone and so was his family. A day or two later I received a basket from his family with coffee and a cup and some various chocolates in it with a card. The card read "we truly appreciate all you did for our father and you will never be forgotten" "P.S. I think you look pretty in your trench-coat".. I had to run into the restroom and I sat there and cried for a few minutes. I was sad he had passed away but I was more touched that they thought enough of me to make such a gesture. I was happy to know that I made a difference in his life even if it was at the very end of his battle.

My other story that still chokes me up to this day and makes me all the more determined to get my nursing degree. I was taking care of a 24 year old boy that had went to the same high school I did about 2 years a head of me. He was in a terrible car accident and was thrown through the windshield of his car. He was severely brain damaged and was pretty much in a vegetable state. I would go in and talk to him while I provided care and he would just stare at me.. I kept hoping that one day he would say something or blink or anything to let me know he could understand me.. According to doctors this wasnt possible as he was "brain dead".. All I kept thinking was Im going to make him as comfortable as possible and do all I can to make sure he doesnt feel alone.. I found myself spending lots of time with him and reading him sports magazines and even singing to him. I asked him mother and father what types of music he listened to prior to the accident. They told me he loved country.. From that day forward as soon as I walked in his room I would close the door and sit down next to him hold his hand and sing a different country song to him. I know technically he didnt know I was doing it and had no idea what was going on but, I like to think to myself that he did.. I like to think I made him happy at least some of the time I was there.. He was transferred out of the hospital shortly after and was taken home to be with his family for the remainder or time he had left. I got a phone call a few weeks later at work to let me know he had passed away and again I was thanked for the difference I made going above what I was required to do.. I cried over his death as well but in the end I felt so proud to have made that difference.