Inspired by CRNAs! My intro...

[JasmineTea]

Hello all! I introduced myself in the greetings forum, but wanted to specifically do the same here. I'll make this one much shorter, though.

I found this forum a few weeks ago and decided to quit lurking and introduce myself. I live in Florida, I'm 32 (33 in May, ack!), have been married 14 years, have 2 wonderful sons (9 and 11) and a cool step-son (18). I got married right out of high school and I've been a stay-at-home-mom all these years. Now that the kiddos are a bit older, I decided it's time to go back to school. I started in January working on my Pre-Nursing AA. Then it's on to my BSN. Eventually I plan to become a CRNA.

I never wanted to go into nursing, or into the medical field at all. Then several years ago, my older sister up and went to nursing school (at 30 yrs old, and married with 3 small kids) and got her RN. Hearing her talk about school and her job inspired me to want to find my own career, which I was convinced was NOT nursing.

Then 2 events changed that. I had a laparoscopy a few years ago (I had stage IV endo), and was affected then by 2 people. They were 1.) my recovery nurse whom I absolutely fell in love with and wanted to take home with me! and 2.) the anesthetist. These 2 people made the procedure comfortable and bearable, and not just physically. They touched my life and I will never forget them. The anesthetist was very gentle and comforting to me. I had recently gotten over pneumonia and pleurisy, and he was very careful assessing me. I will never forget the way he watched over me as I drifted off. He was an older man, could have been my father. I remember him even reaching up and gently pulling my hair out of my eyes as he talked to me. His eyes were so kind. He spoke softly and really helped me relax.

The other event that changed me was a total hysterectomy in October of 2003. I was terrified. An actual anesthesiologist came in and started my IV, and though I don't remember the details as I was shaking with fright, I do remember that it was unusual for her to be doing that herself, and she explained to me why *she* was the one doing it. She put it in my hand and it was the most painful thing to happen to me in any hospital before or since! It hurt the entire time I was there (almost a week) and for months afterward. I still have a little knot there!

Then, right before I was taken into surgery, the nurse anesthetist came to talk to me(well, to knock me out!). Her treatment of me escalated my view of CRNAs even more! She was also very gentle and soft-spoken. I was absolutely terrified, still shaking at this point. She did not rush things, but took the time to talk with me and calm my fears. She sat on the edge of my bed and gently stroked my hair as she talked to me. I think I asked her if she'd hold my hand, and I remember her hands were so warm and mine were so cold! She really was an angel. The last thing I remember is her asking me to look at the clock and tell her what time it was. I looked at it and thought, "Hmmm...I am *going* to remember what time it was!" (I didn't!)

I wanted to be an RN like my sister, but the Jr College I'm going to has lost it's accreditation for the RN program, so it's been scrapped. There's not another program anywhere around here. But there IS a BSN program at the local University. The program head gave me a book about all the different nursing jobs, and the CRNA section just jumped out at me. I am completely fascinated by it. I am more excited than ever that this is what I want to do with my life!

I know I have lots of time to choose a school, but the Gooding Institute is only about 1-2 hours away from me. I hear it's hard to get into, but you never know....

I'll be over 40 when I'm done with school, but hey, I'll be 40 anyway, might as well have a degree and a career to go along with it, right?

Thanks for allowing me to introduce myself. I will be so proud to be joining your ranks soon! You're an amazing group of people.

Best wishes,

JasmineTea (because there are 2 things I love about mornings...sitting on the back deck smelling my Jasmine while sipping a nice cuppa hot tea!)

[yoga crna]

Jasmine,

You are to be commended for having a good plan, based on good and personal information. Follow your heart and dream and you will be surprised at how quickly it happens.

Years ago, I met a young man at a wedding I was attending. He was so impressed with my enthusiasm for my profession, that he changed his college major from engineering, went into nursing and became a CRNA. It was a great momnent for me when I attended his graduation.

I am also so pleased to hear about your excellent care at the hands of CRNAs. When asked about the difference between CRNAs and anesthesiologists, I say that we do the same thing, that there is one safety standard for anesthesia, but we do it with the nurses caring concern for the patient and attention to detail. By the way, with my sedation patients, I always hold my patients' hands and ask that the circulator or surgeon do the same for induction of general anesthesia. It is the last thing the patient remembers and it is so important.

Yoga