I don ’ t remember crying over his death , I remember being confused and wondering why he never came home again . I remember feeling alone . My life , for the rest of my life , was a membership in a 2-member family – Mom and me . She took on the role of provider , and I took on the role of Mom , cook , housecleaner , student , and fixer of problems . This experience , I think , shaped me . I really kept moving forward , not looking back , and became a latchkey kid . I wore a key around my neck , sent myself to school , let myself in the house after school , and prepared dinner for my exhausted mother who worked full time in a butcher shop . There was no time to feel sorry for myself ; there was too much to do . I grew up pretty fast by age twelve .
My first ‘ real job ’ was in a hospital kitchen at age 15 , having lied about my age , making up dinner meals for the entire in-patient population with a team of about 10 others . We transported the meals to the hospital units , retrieved the dirty dishes , took them to the basement of the hospital , washed them , and put them away . Then , we started the process again for the next meal , three times a day . Did this job prepare me for my ultimate career as a nurse ? No . It taught me what I didn ’ t want to do for the rest of my life .
My second job as a radiology transcriptionist did prepare me for a career in nursing . It was the first time I had an opportunity to interact with nurses . What wonderful creatures they were---so smart , so clean , so poised , so stiff , starched , and crisply white ! They seemed so confident and put together , unlike me . Oh , if I could only be one of them … so , I started studying them .
I began with a phone call to the School of Nursing even though I was only seeking information ; they told me the upcoming class was full . OK , that was interesting but not of interest to me now . Within a week , someone dropped out , and I found myself enrolled ! Three years later , I was smart , clean , poised , stiff , starched , crisply white and ready for action . I was a nurse !
My first job was in a small , rural lakeside hospital in a small Iowa vacation town called Spirit Lake and Lake Okiboji . There were fewer than 100 beds in the whole hospital ! But it was in this little hospital where my career changed forever . I was taking care of a 20ish young motorcycle crash survivor who was in a deep coma and whose chance of survival was poor . My first day taking care of him filled me with sadness and anxiety .
He was a beautiful young guy who looked to be peacefully sleeping . The off-going nurse gave me a grim prognosis for him and instructed me to keep his body clean but more importantly help his family cope with his condition and possible death . As I gently sat down on the edge of his bed , I wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm , and I noticed the bruises , scrapes , and sunburn from lying along the roadside before being discovered .
“ Good morning ”, I said . To my amazement with his eyes still closed , he murmured , “ Good morning .” I thought I had witnessed a miracle ! I witnessed a brain injured young man arouse from his coma . He had a chance for recovery that no one believed would happen . This pivotal moment changed me ; I became fascinated with the brain and its
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