Happy Mothers Day!!!!!!!!!

Happy Mothers Day to my mom, mother in law, and all those who  have "mothered" along the way. It takes a special person to mother and we appreciate it!

Today is also special because its Florence Nightingales' Birthday !!!!How awesome. She is credited   with mothering modern nursing. 

Take Care
~ Raqui

A Nurses Legacy

Dear Community,

I leave you today for greener meadows, for a triumphant return to peace for my body is weary and my mind is filled with many memories. Some good, bad,... indifferent but nonetheless memories. 

Although I leave, be of good cheer as I am not gone, just absent in body. My spirit of care lives on...

You see that little girl running around enjoying her adoptive family...or the young mother breastfeeding her baby?  What about the nurse practitioner you saw today…that took the time to get to know you? She was in a class I taught about compassion.  

Aunt Jane understands that she takes the yellow pills twice a day and the green one at night because I took the extra time to make sure she had her medication right.

Maybe you met the nurse anesthetist that prepped you before surgery - I befriended her, telling her the sky was the limit despite her current circumstances and she dared to  believe it. 

The nurse day in and day out helping you in rehab? Well, he and I connected online through blogging and now the rehab app he created  keeps all your progress in one place, at the fingertips of you and your family.

Did you meet your child’s teacher?  I told her that being a teenage mother was just the beginning of her story. I inspired her to go to school and provide for her family.

So you see, I’m still here in my words, actions, deeds, and  planted seeds. My spirit of care lives on and now it’s up to you to carry the legacy of care on. 

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to care for, inspire, and encourage you.  It was my pleasure and now I rest; knowing  the legacy I  leave serves as a catalyst to the next generation of caring.

Take Care

~Raqui

 

Dear Nurse

Dear Nurse,

Good morning…good evening… and good afternoon. I know this is the start of your shift but I just wanted to say Thank You.

Thank You for patiently waiting while I took my morning breakfast of numerous pills. 

Thank You for singing to me even though I’m intubated and can't speak.

Thank You for checking for monsters under my sons’ bed while he receives chemotherapy.

Thank You for understanding that my illness makes it hard for me to accept love or care

-In fact it increases my anxiety. So you find other ways to show your care like consistently showing up and taking interest in me.

Nurse ,Thank You for calling the ambulance even when I said no, because you instinctively knew I was having a stroke.

Thank You for making me a PB &J because being NPO for hours sucks.

Thank You for cleaning me up with dignity, never getting angry that it happens repeatedly.  

Thank You for comforting my family and keeping them up to date.  

Thank You for attending staffings to determine the level of care I receive.

Thank You for visiting me in the hospital...SNF…jail…home…park…your car…and anywhere that is convenient for me. 

Thank You for processing my prior authorizations in a timely manner so my medical foster parent can care for me.

Thank You for taking the time to make sure I understand my care…medications…my rights… and advocating for me. You make my voice matter.

Thank You for empowering me and encouraging me to be a partner in my care.

Thank You for checking in on me.

Thank You for looking at me as more than my illness or infirmity.

Thank You for helping me understand life is a part of death… holding my hands as I take my last breath.

Thank You Thank You Thank You for treating me like your family.

Thank You for mentoring the next generation of nurses through teaching…coaching…and blogging. 

Dear Nurse I know I can’t say this enough but Thank You.

Take Care

~Raqui

 

 

Celebrate Nurses May 6-12!!!!!!!

Hello Everyone and Happy Nurses Week !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad you are here to celebrate !! Today we kick off the week with nurses day and a perspective on nursing from Becky. Then later on the week I will share some letters of reflection, then we will round the week out celebrating Florence Nightingale's Birthday & Mothers Day.  You can also find interesting facts and figures regarding nursing with a simple Google search or here at the American Nurses Association website. I hope you enjoy and as always if you love it share it.! If you don't like it tell me about it so I can fix it. Thanks.

Becky's perspectives on,

What nursing means to her:

"Helping others live the best life they possibly can"

 What got her into the field of nursing and how nursing has impacted her life:

"I always knew I wanted to be a nurse.  My mom tells me I talked about it when I was 3 or 4 yrs. old.  I started as a Candy Striper (that dates me doesn't it?), read all the 'nurse' books in the library in junior high--school nurse, air force nurse, surgical nurse, etc."

" I wasn't sure until my senior year in nursing what area I wanted to go into, but eventually chose psychiatric nursing and have never regretted it!  I have met so many wonderful people, traveled around the world, and best of all, have helped lots of people that usually get nothing but disdain or misunderstanding."

 Her hopes for nursing in the future:

 "My hope for nursing is that nurses can rise to a higher level of professionalism.  It's very dismaying to read about bullying within nursing.  There's no place for that behavior in a profession that cares for those who may be helpless or infirm and to whom the public holds in highest regard."

Thanks Becky. Great perspective.

How will you celebrate  nurses this week?  What does nursing mean to you, how has it impacted your life, and what are your hopes for nursing in the future?

Take Care

~Raqui

Nurses Week May 6-12

Nurses week is coming and I'm very excited!! Why you ask? Because nurses and those in the nursing field are awesome. I can't wait to celebrate !!! I propose we celebrate everyday:) Next week I have a lot of fun and reflective things in store. I hope you enjoy it. In the mean time check out this sneak peek. How will you celebrate the most trusted profession?

Take Care
~ Raqui