For me I have wanted to become a nurse since I was a little girl. I never knew of any other path, all I knew was that I loved helping people and seeing the smiles on their faces. I have been a nurse for a little over 15 years, and it was not until my past 2 years working in Oncology that I began discovering my purpose as a nurse. When I began working in oncology I had just left a very abusive marriage, and I had to go figure out how to raise 3 little boys on my own…I was in an extremely dark place in my life, but unbeknownst to me God had a different plan for my life. What I mean by this is that God had placed me right where I needed to be. My cancer patients gave me a reason to fight and not feel sorry for myself. I quickly realized that no matter what kind of day I was having, theirs was much harder and it humbled me. I remember the first day I met Stoney. I was his nurse in the port room that morning and of course his name intrigued me, but what also intrigued me was his will to live and his joyful spirit. I have never once seen Stoney without a big smile on his face. Strength like that is absolutely contagious! He gave me strength just by being in his presence. His laughter filled the hallways, and he went out of his way to make others smile during his own struggles. BJ was and is incredible at advocating. He never left Stoney’s side, and he fought right along beside him, and was absolutely the best caregiver I have ever met and is so incredibly strong!
My point here is that we all have our own battles we are facing, and you never know what someone else is going through but overall I do not save my patients, they save me everyday!
