As Nurse Lay Dying, Offering Herself as Instruction in Caring

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.

To me this is a beautiful story. The students and dying nurse truly rock.

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass.-It was early November when Martha Keochareon called the nursing school at Holyoke Community College, her alma mater. She had a proposal, which she laid out in a voice mail message.

"I have cancer," she said after introducing herself, "and I'm wondering if you'll need somebody to do a case study on, a hospice patient."

Perhaps some nursing students "just want to feel what a tumor feels like," she went on. Or they could learn something about hospice care, which aims to help terminally ill people die comfortably at home.

"Maybe you'll have some ambitious student that wants to do a project," Ms. Keochareon (pronounced CATCH-uron) said after leaving her phone number. "Thank you. Bye." ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/us/fatally-ill-and-making-herself-the-lesson.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&hp

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Specializes in occupational health.

From the New York Times

I found this interesting article today:

As Nurse Lay Dying, Offering Herself as Instruction in Caring

By ABBY GOODNOUGH

Published: January 10, 2013

In this article a nurse with terminal pancreatic cancer reached out to her alma mater, Holyoke Community College to see if the nursing students would be interested in doing a case study her. It was an opportunity to teach nursing students about death and dying.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/us/fatally-ill-and-making-herself-the-lesson.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hpw

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Just read this and was about to post it on here when I saw your post. It brought tears to my eyes and helped me remember, that even as I prepare for my NCLEX, I should always be grateful for what I do have.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, ICU.

That is awesome. She left a true legacy and found a way to live on.

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From the New York Times

I found this interesting article today:

As Nurse Lay Dying, Offering Herself as Instruction in Caring

By ABBY GOODNOUGH

Published: January 10, 2013

In this article a nurse with terminal pancreatic cancer reached out to her alma mater, Holyoke Community College to see if the nursing students would be interested in doing a case study her. It was an opportunity to teach nursing students about death and dying.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/us/fatally-ill-and-making-herself-the-lesson.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hpw

Great take aways from this article:

"The patient isn't Martha per se," Ms. Keane said, "it's the entire family."

"The best advice she could give future nurses, Ms. Keochareon said in her reedy voice, was "to just dig a little deeper-you know?"

""I notice that every time that Martha gave of herself she received far more," Ms. Woodard said. "In fact, she received a few moments of less pain and I suspect that she received life itself-a few more hours, even days, with purpose."

Every day is an opportunity to live with purpose, not matter what is going on with you!

Thanks for posting this 1wellnessnurse!!!!

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

What a generous thing to do! Thank you for sharing this wonderful article.

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Specializes in Trauma, Emergency.

great article! stimulated the mushy-misty lobe of my brain.

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Specializes in Hospice, home health, LTC.

What an awesome legacy...I would love such an opportunity. I pray her symptoms were controlled in a wonderfully excellent manner and that many nursing students were blessed.

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Amazing story. Thank you for sharing.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

One our instructors was like this as well. She had a host of medicl issues and was a frequent patient of the students. She did a wonderful job teaching us. Sadly, she passed 3 days before our pinning ceremony.

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One our instructors was like this as well. She had a host of medicl issues and was a frequent patient of the students. She did a wonderful job teaching us. Sadly, she passed 3 days before our pinning ceremony.

That's heavy. Still, at least you had that wonder teacher for a while. Not every student is fortunate to get those experiences. Makes me sad when I hear students talk about their whole program being worthless to them or pure drudgery.

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Specializes in Rural Health.

LOVED this article! It brought tears to my eyes and hit close to home as my Dad is dying from Melanoma. I never knew so much about skin cancer as I've learned over the next 6 months! I hope I can help teach others from this experience.

I had a nursing instructor who'd been diagnosed with diabetes at age 3, she was definitely able to use her experience as a patient with a chronic diagnosis to help in her teaching.

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