A Path I Wouldn’t Want to Follow-
Being a Nurse
I grew up in mid twentieth century—a time when career choices for women were limited. The main options were teaching, nursing or secretarial work. When I was about thirteen my Girl Scout leader took us on a field trip to a local hospital which also had a nursing school attached. I wasn’t at all sure about what kind of a career I might want so I was very curious. We were taken around many of the areas of the hospital and the more I saw, the less I liked it. It smelled funny, people were sick and always ringing for a nurse to help them. What finally did me in was seeing an iron lung—unoccupied of course. The tour leader described how a polio victim would be put in it and then the machine would breathe for them. The patient would be completely encased in this coffin-like contraption with only their head sticking out. I went home and just sobbed, imagining a person being stuck in this thing. I decided right then that I wasn’t cut out to be a nurse. My mother consoled me and assured me I never would have to be a nurse.
How wrong she was!! God had other plans for me. I never took nurses training or worked in the medical field. However, I did marry a man who suffered from a chronic illness. I looked after him for over sixty years. We had three sons with all the childhood diseases and bumps and scrapes that entailed. In later years I helped take care of various relatives through their illnesses and last years of life. I certainly did a lot of nursing for someone who never wanted to be a nurse.
I want to be clear that in no way do I consider myself equal with the professional nurses I’ve come to know. I’ve watched them comfort the sick, calm those who were anxious, assist doctors in whatever was required of them and stand their ground when someone thought a stupid idea was a good thing to do. In my opinion, they are angels walking the Earth.
Prayer: Dear Lord: Thank you for the privilege of caring for those who are ill. Please guide us to where we are needed. Amen
Sally Hunter