As stated in my "about me" section, I am an Oncology nurse. Im closing in on my second full year of this job, and all of the things that I have learned from this proffession could never fit in one blog post. I felt that the best way to begin was to insert something that I had previously posted on Instagram last spring.
"Today was one of those days at work where you just want to run away...or at least hide somewhere and cry (which I may or may not have done at least twice). My job drains me, physically and emotionally, at levels I cannot even comprehend at times. There are plenty of days I have questioned my decision to become an Oncology nurse. Never in a million years would I have placed myself there. Of course God has other plans, and he knows what we need, and what an honor it is to serve in this way. Today, when I was at my breaking point, I had a patients daughter come up to me and wrap me in a hug. She had just lost her mother minutes before. Her words were 'we never would have made it through this without you nurses. Thank you so much for doing what you do.' There it was, someone dealing with more pain than Ive ever had to personally experience inadvertently was comforting me. I still cannot comprehend that. Small blessings God brings us truly can shadow anything."
As a nurse in a hospital setting, you go to work never really knowing what you are going to face on your shift. You could have five pleasant patients with uncomplicated diagnosis' (this pretty much never happens), or you could have five patients suffering from dementia whom are bound and determined to leap out of the bed every two minutes and find themselves lying in the floor. You could have a mix of both or something completely different. You may work a long twelve hours without a full meal break or time to pee. You really just NEVER know. As stated above I work mainly with Oncology patients, but as a Med-Surg floor we bring in everything from GI bleeds to pneumonia.
Being an Oncology nurse takes a special mindset, and a special personality. I truly believe this is why we have such an amazing staff on our floor. I love my co-workers, they are my heroes and my mentors. Their heart, and compassion for the sick and hurting, is something that can only come naturally. As an Oncology nurse you come in contact with many patients that you become close to. When you care for someone on the level that you have to in the hospital its nearly impossible for this not to happen. Many of our patients are diagnosed while in our care, and given the worst prognosis while in our care as well. Imagine having to go into a persons room, immediately after a doctor has left from giving them the news that they have a max of six months to live. Yet these wonderful nurses do it all the time, and they comfort those patients and their families the best way that they can. When they are done there, they may go next door and be cussed out for not bringing someones pain medicine to them on time, or have another patient pass away. This is the struggle faced everyday by all nurses. Yet our struggles are nothing compared to those of that person in that bed, or the family surrounding them.
Working with the dying has taught me so much about living
There is one thing about taking care of those sweet, courageous Oncology patients that changes you though. They have changed my outlook on life in the best way possible. It is no longer about making a paycheck, getting to the weekend or just making it through the holidays and all its chaos. Every moment is precious, and not taking advantage of the time you are given with your family and friends is such a personal crime. Life is short, and the impossible can happen at any moment. When I say this some people tell me you can't live life thinking that the worst can happen at any moment, but those people do not see what I see, and experience what I, and all of my awesome colleagues, experience. That being said, please make memories with your loved ones, whether its crazy Disney World trips, or trips to the park. Spoil your babies the best your can, and teach them how to spoil others who are hurting. Enjoy the little things, bless someone else, and spend time with your parents and loved ones, and don't forget to buy dessert :). Even at the end of a healthy and blessed life, the person you have become will look back at you in the mirror and thank you for it.
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