It's Nurses' Week: Thanks, Mom

 My Mom was a nurse back in the days when the only specialty care unit was the ICU. No CCU, no burn units, nothing. They did it all. They treated their patients with patience and kindness and skill. They held hands, soothed foreheads, changed beds, fed those who couldn't feed themselves. They gave meds, did paperwork, and drank gallons of coffee to stay awake on the graveyard shift. Nurses aides were just as valuable as the nurses. One of my mom's friends who was an aide went on to college and became a nurse herself. They were life long friends and occasionally defied doctors.

There was no jewelry allowed to be worn except for their wedding bands. No nail polish either, and they wore their caps every day.The different nursing schools and programs each had their own cap design. Dresses were pure white and so were their stockings and shoes.They could wear only white sweaters when they were cold. Mom wore a timex with a sweep second hand. She had her own stethoscope, and she covered the metal parts with I.V. tubing because she was allergic to the metal. I remember when ear piercing became popular, and all the girls in her unit pierced each others' ears.They all wore their hair in such a way as to cover their ears. Before long, the hospital looked the other way; times were changing. But nothing dangling, please. Post or small hoops only.

As time went by and things changed even more, the nurses began to wear scrubs; they were hospital issue and the women wore their uniforms to work and changed when they got there. But they still wore their white shoes. I remember how there would be liittle black stains on the toes of my mother's shoes whenever she had a burn patient. They were treated with silver nitrate, and she often got splashed during dressing changes. I won't describe the treatments, but she would speak about it and it always bothered her. I could listen to her tell ICU stories for hours. When I was about 16, I remember sitting in the kitchen with her when she would come home from work in the morning; I learned so much at that table. My older sister has it now. If it could speak..... I have the earrings she wore to work every day; what a treasure they are to me!
One of the hardest things she ever had to do was to care for my older brother when he smacked his motorcycle into a telephone pole. He entered the ICU as a head trauma patient and remained in a coma for 10 days. He had a serious brain stem injury. She went to work every day and refused to take the leave for family personal needs that was offered to her. Who would care for her son better than she would? Under her expert care and mother's love, my brother survived his accident and went to a rehab facility for further treatment.
After nearly 18 years as an ICU nurse, my mom decided she had enough of trauma and death, and transferred to OB-GYN. She wanted to finish her career in the place of life and new beginings. She absolutely loved it there, and retired after 7 more years of service to others. Great job, Mom! You rocked your world.

 Nurses are truly heroic...if you are blessed to know one, hug her or him, and give them an extra one from me!